A 



REFUTATION 

Of 

CALVINISM; 

IN WHICH, 

THE DOCTRINES 
or 

IGINAL SIN, GRACE, REGENERATION, JUSTIFICATION, 
AND UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION, 

ARE EXPLAINED, 

AND THE PECULIAR TENETS 
MAINTAINED BY CALVIN UPON THOSE POINTS 

ARE PROVED TO BE CONTRARY 

TO SCRIPTURE, 
TO THE WRITINGS OF THE ANTIENT FATHERS 

OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 
AND TO THE PUBLIC FORMULARIES OF THE 
CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 



GEORGE TOMLINE, D.D. F.R.S. 

LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN, 
AND DEAN OF ST. PAULAS, LONDON. 



LONDON: 

Printed for T. Cadell & W. Davies, in the Strand; 
Rivingtons, St. Paul's Church-yard; White & C>« 
Fleet-street; Hatch a rd, Picadilly ; Deighton, 
Cambridge; and Parker, Oxford. 



la IL 




London : Printed by Luke Hansard & Son*, 
Hear Lincoln's-Inn Fields. 



^xC JDk 

ty-mt. 

J jenir 
ntai 



PREFACE. 



^T^H E design of the following Work, is, to 
refute the peculiar Doctrines of the system 
of Theology which was maintained by Calvin* 
The first four Chapters contain a discussion of all 
the peculiar Doctrines of that system, with an at- 
tempt to prove that they are contrary to Scripture, 
and to the Public Formularies of our Established 
Church. My object has been to t eat these 
abstruse subjects in an intelligible manner, with- 
out perplexing my Readers with metaphysical 
subtleties, or fatiguing them by tedious detail; 
and to give a plain interpretation of those texts 
of the Old and New Testament, which have been 
brought forward both by the supporters and 
opponents of Calvinism, and which are generally 
considered to be among the most difficult passages 
of the Sacred Volume. The language of our 
own Church is in general so perspicuous and 
decided, that in appealing to its Authority very 
little explanation has been found necessary, 

h except 



iv PREFACE. 

except in referring to some of the % * \t 
Articles. The Fifth and Sixth Chapters coi in 
about three hundred and eighty Quotations from 
the Writings of the antient Fathers of the Chris- 
tian Church ; and the Seventh Chapter contains 
about sixty Quotations from the different Works 
of Calvin. A comparison of the Fifth and Seventh 
Chapters, in which the Fathers and Calvin are 
left to speak for themselves, with scarcely any 
comment from me, must, I think, convince every 
unprejudiced mind, that the Primitive Church of 
Christ held opinions in direct opposition to the 
peculiar tenets of Calvinism ; and from a com- 
parison of the Sixth and Seventh Chapters it will, 
if I mistake not, be equally manifest, that theses 
peculiar tenets, or tenets nearly resembling them, 
were maintained, at a very early period of the 
Christian Church, by persons who were then, and 
have ever since been, considered as Heretics, or 
corrupters of the pure and genuine Doctrines of 
the GospeL The Eighth and last Chapter con- 
tains a brief History of what are now called Cal- 
vinistic Doctrines, from the days of the Apostles 
to the asra of the Reformation, with a few remarks 
upon the Public Formularies of our own Church* 

The First, Second, and Fourth Chapters, in- 
clude the Charges which I delivered to the Clergy 



PREFACE. V 

of the Diocese of Lincoln at my last three 
triennial Visitations, with very considerable addi- 
tions. The first of these Charges, upon Universal 
Redemption. I published in the year 1803, at the 
request of the Clergy : and having received a 
similar request respecting my Charges of 1806 
and iSoq, I deferred the publication of them, till 
I had completed the plan which I had formed to 
myself, It appeared to me, that the importance 
of the subjects, especially at the present moment, 
required that they should be discussed more at 
4en2th than the time usually allowed to an 
Episcopal Charge will permit; and I thought that 
I might render some service to our Estabhshed 
Church, if I collected and published the sen^ 
tiinents of the Fathers of the first four or five 
centuries, upon these interesting points, and con- 
trasted them with a sufficient number of passages 
from the T \Vorks of Calvin, to convey a clear idea 
of his system in his own words. I was scarcely 
aware of what I had undertaken, in this latter- 
part of my plan. The duties of my very extensive 
Diocese, with other avocations of a private nature, 
did not soon afford me leisure for so laborious a 
work, as that of carefully examining nearly seventy 
folio volumes, and extracting from them what 
related to the subjects in question. I have, how- 
ever, at length performed the task ; and I deemed 

1) 2 it 



VI PREFACE. 

it incumbent upon me to make this statement, as 
an apology to my Clergy, for what might otherwise 
have been considered a culpable tardiness in 
complying with their wishes, and in fulfilling my 
own promise, 

I feel great satisfaction in being able to lay 
before my Readers a mass of such consistent and 
decisive evidence, extending from Ignatius and 
Clement of Rome, who were contemporaries with 
the Apostles, to Theodoret, who lived in the fifth 
century, and comprehending almost every Eccle- 
siastical Writer within that period. The little 
which remains of those writers from whose works 
no extracts are given, contains nothing relative 
to the Calvinistic system. I desire it to be under- 
stood that I have not selected what suits my own 
purpose, and suppressed what would have made 
against me. My inquiry has not furnished a 
single passage in any of the works of the antient 
Fathers of the Christian Church, in which any 
one of the peculiar tenets of Calvin is maintained, 
with the except on of the later writings of 
Augustine, who did not live till the very end 
of the fourth century. If Calvinists pretend that 
absolute decrees, the unconditional election and 
reprobation of individuals, particular redemption, 
irresistible grace, and the entire destruction of 

free-will 



PREFACE. Vl^ 

free-will in man in consequence of the Fall, were 
the doctrines of the Primitive Church of Christ, 
let them cite their authority, let them refer to 
the works in which these doctrines are actually 
taught. If such opinions were really held, we- 
could not fail to meet with some trace of them in 
the various and voluminous works of the nume- 
rous authors which are still extant. I assert, that 
no such trace is to be found ; and I challenge the 
Calvinists of the present day to produce an author 
prior to Augustine, who maintained what are now 
called Calvinistic opinions. What weight is due 
to Augustine, I leave my Readers to decide, 
when they shall have seen my quotations from 
the greater part of his works in the Sixth Chapter, 
and also the observations respecting him in the 
concluding Chapter. But in any case he is but 
one, unsupported by any earlier writer (and even 
by himself, before his judgement was perverted 
by the warmth of the Pelagian controversy), 
against a cloud of witnesses, all of whom lived 
nearer to the i^postolical times, and concur in 
bearing an opposite testimony, in uninterrupted 
succession, through a period of four complete 
centuries. 

I have placed the Authors from whose works 
I have given extracts, in chronological order, and 

stated 



Vlil PREFACE, 

stated the year in which each lived; and that my 
Readers might have the means of judging of the 
correctness of the translations, which it has 
been my endeavour to make as literal as is 
consistent with perspicuity, I have mentioned 
the edition, volume, and page, from which I 
bave quoted. 

There is so close a connexion between the 
peculiar doctrines of Calvinism, that I have some- 
times found occasion to quote the same texts of 
Scripture, and to use the same arguments in dif- 
ferent Chapters. My design was to make each 
Chapter a whole ; and I trust that this repetition, 
in the few instances in which it occurs, will be 
excused. I must also request my Readers to 
remember, that what I have said concerning the 
Parochial Clergy, was a part of my Visitation 
Charges already mentioned. 

At the end of my last Charge, in adverting to 
the general state of religious opinions in this 
Country, I noticed the attempts, then recently 
made, to procure the repeal of the Laws which 
exclude Roman Catholics from certain offices and 
situations of trust and power; and I expressed 
my decided opinion, that those restraints could 

not 



PREFACE. k 

not be removed without extreme hazard to our 
Constitution in Church and State, But as this 
is a subject totally unconnected with the points 
here discussed, I have not thought it necessary 
to insert that part of my Charge in the present 
Work. 

Euckden Palace, 
January ist, 1811* 



ERRATA: 

p. 24.1. 11. for Bereeans read Bereeans. 

p. 105. (note) 1. 2. \ f or Testaent0 > f ircn5 ' 
I read Tes^amento, pro. 

„ ' C for selects a number, 

p. 184* 1. 6. from bott. 1 7 , . n . _ 

r (. rcffrf selects a small number, 

p. 1 89. 1. 7« from bott. Je/e even. 

p. 191. 1. 13. for Now mzG? How. 

p. 200, 1. 9- tf/fef life the mark of interrogation* 

p. 204. 1. 11. for his read the. 

p. 26*5. (note) 1. 3. from bott. for fieri* read fiereU 

p. 293. 1. 10,ybr ye read you £ji 5oM instances* 

p. 067, 1. 5. fr6m hott.Jor then raz^ them. 

p. 428. last linear Epistles read Epistle. 

p. oil. (note) 1. 2. dele comma after De» 



A 

REFUTATION 

OF 

CALVINISM, 



CHAPTER THE FIRST. 

OF 'ORIGINAL SIN, FREE-WILL, AND THE OPERATION 
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

TT is evident from the account left us by Moses, 
that a considerable change took place in the 
minds of our first Parents immediately after they 
had transgressed the prohibitory command of 
God, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of 
Good and Evil (a); but the conciseness with 
which the sacred Historian has described the pri- 
mitive condition of Man, and his Fall from the 
state in which he was created, has led to a variety 
of opinions respecting the effects of Adams dis- 
obedience upon himself and his posterity. With- 
out entering into a detail of the numerous con- 
troversies 

(a) Gen. c. 2. v. 17, 

B 



2 Of Origmal Sin, Free-will, and [cHAP-r. 

troversies which have arisen in the Christian 
Church concerning Original Sin, or attempting 
to explain the subtle distinctions and minute dif- 
ferences which we find in Writers upon this 
abstruse and intricate subject, we may remark, 
that there have been, and still are, Christians, 
who assert, that Adam transmitted no moral cor- 
ruption to his offspring in consequence of his Fall ; 
and who maintain, that the nature of the present 
race of men is not more depraved than the nature 
of Adam was at his first creation. On the con- 
trary, there are others, who contend that the sin 
of Adam introduced into his nature such a radical 
impotence and depravity, that it is impossible for 
his descendants to make any voluntary effort to- 
wards piety or virtue, or in any respect to correct 
and improve their moral and religious character; 
and that Faith and all the Christian graces are 
communicated by the sole and irresistible opera- 
tion of the Spirit of God, without any endeavour 
or concurrence on the pail of Man. The former 
is the position of the Socinians, the latter of the 
■Calvinists. The true doctrine will be found to 
lie between these two extremes. The heart, the 
passions, the will, and the understanding, and 
indeed ail the faculties and powers of Adam, 
were greatly corrupted, perverted, and impaired 
by his violation of the divine command ; and this 
i sia. 



Chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 3 

sin of our first Parent has caused every individual 
descended from him, to he born into the world 
an imperfect and depraved creature. But though 
a propensity to evil and wickedness, universal in 
extent and powerful in its effects, was thus trans- 
mitted to mankind, yet all idea of distinction 
between right and wrong was not utterly oblite- 
rated from the human mind, or every good affec- 
tion eradicated from the human heart. The general 
approbation of virtue and detestation of vice, 
which have universally prevailed, prove, that the 
moral sense was not annihilated (b) ; and that 
Man did not become by the Fall an unmixed in- 
corrigible mass of pollution and depravity, abso- 
lutely incapable of amendment, or of knowing or 
discharging, by his natural powers, any part of 
the duty of a dependent rational being. And it 
will appear that the Gospel scheme of Redemp- 
tion, so far from rejecting all co-operation of Man, 
requires human exertions as indispensably neces- 
sary 

(b ) " Peace and delight," says Bishop Butler, {< in 
some degree and upon some occasions, is the necessary 
and present effect of virtuous practice 5 an effect arising 
immediately from the constitution of our nature. We 
are so made that well-doing as such gives us satisfaction, 
at least in some instances ; ill-doing as such in none." 
And, upon another occasion he observes, that 4< this 
moral principle is capable of improvement_by discipline 
and exercise." Anal, of Hum. Nat. pp.81 & 135. 

B 2 



4 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. r. 

sary to obtain the effectual assistance of the Holy 
Spirit. 

I do not think it necessary to repeat the argu- 
ments, which I have stated in a former Work (c), 
in support of the doctrine of the general cor- 
ruption of human nature, but shall confirm 
the truth of what has been now advanced 
respecting the degree of that corruption, by a 
particular reference to the Old and New Testa- 
ment : I shall then shew that the Public For- 
mularies of our Church are strictly consonant 
to Scripture, and cannot be reconciled with the 
Calvinistic tenets upon Original Sin, Free-will, and 
Divine Grace, subjects necessarily connected in 
every system of Christian Theology. 

We are told in the Book of Genesis, that 
" The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his 
offering (d);" and unto Cain he said, " If thou 
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? And if 
thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door ( e J." 

May 

(c) Elements of Christian Theology. 

( d) Gen. c. 4. v. 4. 

(e) Gen, c.4. v. 7. My argument is not affected by 
the doubts entertained by the learned, concerning the 
meaning of the last words of this passage. I desire to 
refer my Readers, who may wish to see this subject 
fully discussed, to Dr. Magee's Discourses on Atone- 
ment and Sacrifice, v. 1. p. 57. and v. 2. p. 243, a 
work of great learning, and of very superior merit. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 5 

May we not hence infer that the immediate sons 
of Adam lived under a divine law, which they 
had the power of obeying or of disobeying? The 
doing well, or the doing not well, the acceptance, 
or the imputation of sin, imply a practicable rule 
as the criterion of the worthiness of their actions. 
The progress of sin after the Fall was very rapid 
and excessive ; but we are informed that, amidst 
the general depravity, " Enoch walked with 
God (f) :" and that " Noah was a just man, 
and perfect in his generations, and walked with 
God (g The former "was translated that 
he should not see death (h) f and the latter was 
preserved with his family, when a flood of waters 
destroyed all other flesh upon the earth. Between 
the flood and the promulgation of the Law lived 
Abraham, who was called by God himself " the 
Friend of God (i) Isaac, to whose prayer it 
pileased God to listen (k) ; and Job, who " was 
perfect and upright, and one that feared God and 
eschewed evil (I) ." Do riot these instances be- 
speak a rule of life instituted by God himself, 
and a capacity of distinguishing between good 

and 

(f) Gen. c. 5. v. 24. 

(g) Gen. c. 6. v. 9. (h) Heb. c. 11. v. 5. 
(i) J as. c. 2. v. 23. &; Is. c. 41. v. 8- 

(k) Gen. c. 27. v. 28. (I) Job, c. i.v. z. 



6 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, i, 

and evil, and of acting according to the de- 
termination of reason ? The very same conclu- 
sions follow still more clearly, from the great 
prevalence of wickedness in the ante-diluvian 
world, and the consequent destruction of the 
whole human race, with the exception of eight 
persons; for, " where no law is, there is no 
transgression ( m) — " Sin is not imputed, when 
there is no law fn) The punishment proves 
the existence of sin — Sin proves the existence 
of a Law — and a Law given by a righteous 
and merciful God proves the possibility of obe- 
dience. 

If we turn to the history of the Jews living 
under a peculiar Dispensation, we shall find that 
though in general they were a perverse and 
wicked people, and frequently drew down upon 
themselves the just vengeance of an offended 
God, yet there were many on whom was poured 
the spirit of prophecy, and several of their kings 
are celebrated for "walking in the commandments 
of God." Even in the idolatrous days of Ahab 
and Jezebel, when the covenant was forsaken, 
and the altars of God overthrown, there were 
7,000 in Israel, who had not bowed their knees 
to Baal (o ) ; and at the last there were some who 

" departed 

(m) Rom. c. 4. v. 15. (n) Rom.c. 5. v. 13.- 
\o) 1 Kings, c. 19. v, ig. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 7 

4i departed not from the Temple, but looked 
for redemption in Jerusalem (p ) ;" and "there 
were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, 
out of every nation under heaven ( q )" In the 
inspired writings of the Prophets, some degree of 
uprightness, and also a power of abandoning sin 
in consequence of reflection, are unequivocally 
acknowledged; When a righteous man turaeth 
away from his righteousness, and committetli 
iniquity, and dieth in them ; for his iniquity that' 
lie hath done, shall he die. Again, when the 
wicked man turneth away from his wickedness 
that he hath committed, and doeth that which is 
lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 
Because he considereth, and turneth away from 
all his transgressions that he hath committed, he 
shall surely live, he shall not die (r )? u Let 
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous 
man his thoughts, and let him return unto the 
Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and 
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (s)? 
" Cast away from you all your transgressions, 
whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a 
new- heart, and a new spirit ; for why will ye 
die, O house of Israel ? For I have no pleasure 
in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord 

God. 

(p) Luke, c. 2. v. 37 & 3$. (q) Acts, c. 2. v. 5, 
(r) Ezek. c. 18. v. 26—28. (s) Is. c.55. v. 7. 

B 4 



8 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 

God. "Wherefore turn yourselves, and live 
ye(t)" And without quoting any other texts, 
it will be sufficient to observe, that the positive 
injunctions to obey, and the earnest exhortations 
to reform, which we so frequently meet with in 
the Old Testament, plainly shew, that the incor- 
rigible depravity of human nature was not a 
* doctrine inculcated under the Mosaic dispen- 
sation. 

St. Paul, in referring to the antient Gentile world, 
as contradistinguished to the Jews, says, that 
" the Gentiles were a law unto themselves (u) 
that " the law was written upon their hearts (x )\ 
surely then it was possible for them to obey it ; 
otherwise, how could their " consciences bear 
them witness, and their thoughts accuse or ex- 
cuse one another (y ) ? " Indeed he expressly says, 
that " the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by 
nature the things contained in the law ( z)" that 
is, the Gentiles, through the natural suggestions 
of their own minds, discharge the moral duties 
enjoined by the law of Moses ; for the ceremo- 
nies of the Mosaic ritual were certainly never 
observed by any other people. This passage 
clearly proves, that all mankind have always had 

a rule 

(t) Ezek. c. 18. v. 31 & 32. (wj Rom. c. 2. v. 14. 
(x) Rom.c. 2. v. 15. (y) Rom. c. 2. v. 15, 

(%) Rom. c. 2. v. 14. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 9 
a rule of life, derived from their Maker and inter- 
woven in their frame ; and that they were capable 
of obeying it, although in fact their obedience 
has been very rare, and always imperfect. This 
has arisen from the extreme difficulty of resisting 
" another law in their members warring against 
the law of their minds, and bringing them into 
captivity to the law 7 of sin, which was in their 
members (a J." It will scarcely be denied that 
some acts of mercy, justice, and self-denial are 
recorded in profane history ; and therefore upon 
these occasions, as far at least as external deeds 
are concerned, men were able to counteract the 
depravity introduced into their nature by the Fall 
of Adam (b). The proneness to sin in every 
individual of the human race, and the predo- 
minance of wickedness at every period and in 
every country of the heathen world, are most 
readily granted ; and it is only contended, that 
the temporary or occasional control of their sin- 
ful passions was never physically impossible. 
The understanding was greatly impaired by the 
Fall ; but no one will maintain that it was utterly 
destroyed, or that what remains is incapable of 
improvement : and in like manner, the heart was 

in 

(a) Rom. c. 7. v. 23. 

(b) Nec est quisquam gentis ullius, qui ducem natu- 
ram nactus, ad virtutem venire non possit. Cic. deLeg. 



to Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 

m a high degree depraved, but every good affec- 
tion towards God and towards man was not 
totally extinguished (c); and our feeble sense of 
duty may be strengthened by the exercise of our 
reason, which is not given us as an unmeaning 
privilege, or as an useless distinction between our- 
selves and the beasts that perish. Man was 
created " in the image of God (d);" but a great 
part of that resemblance is lost, and cannot be 
regained in this mortal life.' He was " made a 
little lower than the Angels (e)f but immense is 
now the distance between the best of men, and 

the 

(c) Est ergo vera definitio legis naturae, legem naturae 
esse notitiam legis divinae, naturae ho minis insitam. Ideo 
enhn dicitur homo ad imaginem Dei conditus esse> 
quia in eo lucebat imago, hoc est, notkia Dei et simi- 
litude) quaedam mentis divinae ; id est, discrimen hones- 
torum et turpium, et cum his notitiis congruebant vires 
hominis. Voluntas erat conversa ad Deum ante lap- 
sum ; ardebant et in mente verae notitiae ; et in volun- 
tary amor erga Deum ; et assentiebantur corda, sine ulla 
dubitatione, veris notitiis. Ac statuebant nos conditos 
esse ad agnoscendum et celebrandum Deum, et ad obe- 
diendum huic Domino qui nos condidit, alit, impressit 
imaginem sui, qui justa postulat et approbat, e contra 
vero damnat et punit injusta. Quanquam autem in hac 
naturae corruptione, deformata imagine Dei, non ita 
fulgent notitiae, manent tamen, sedcor repugnat, et incur- 
runt dubitationes propter quaedam quae pugnare viden« 
tur cum illis notitiis. Melancthon Loci Theol. 

(d) Gen. c. i. v. 27. (e) Ps. 8. v. 5, 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 1 1 

the lowest inhabitant of heaven. It has never- 
theless been an invariable property of the human 
species, from the first Creation to the present 
moment, that their propensities, affections, and 
faculties, have been capable, in different degrees 
under different circumstances, of control, cul- 
tivation, and enlargement. This capacity is 
manifested in the history of mankind, and is in- 
separable from a state of probation. We have 
seen it acknowledged in the Scriptures of the 
Old Testament, and expressly declared by an 
inspired Apostle when speaking of the Gentiles 
prior to the coming of Christ ; and I shall now 
proceed to shew, that abundant proof of some 
discrimination of moral character, and of some 
power of religious improvement, is found in the 
parts of the New Testament, which relate to 
those, who heard the preaching of our Saviour, 
and to whom the glad tidings of the Gospel were 
afterwards conveyed. 

" I am not come," says Christ, " to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance (f) we 
may therefore affirm, upon the authority of our 
Blessed Saviour himself, that there is at least a 
degree of righteousness in some men. I am 
aware that Commentators, who wish to reconcile 
this passage to the Calvinistic system, explain the 

word 

(f) Matt. c. 9. v. 13, 



1 2 Of Original Sin, Free-willy and [chap. i. 

word " Righteous" by " those who consider them- 
selves righteous :" but it is evident from the oc- 
casion on which this declaration was made, that 
the word will not admit of that interpretation ; 
" And it came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the 
house, behold, many publicans and sinners came 
and sat down with him and his disciples. And 
when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his 
disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans 
and sinners ? But when Jesus heard that, he 
said unto them, They that be whole need not a 
physician, but they that are sick. But go ye, 
and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy 
and not sacrifice ; for I am not come to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance." " By the 
righteous, (says Whitby, very justly,) we are not 
to understand those who are only righteous in 
their own conceits, such as the Pharisees were, 
who justified themselves before men ( g), and 
trusted in themselves that they were righteous, 
and despised others (h), in comparison of them- 
selves ; for such are not whole, but have great 
need of the spiritual physician ; and such espe- 
cially the Gospel calleth to repentance (ij. — 
Moreover, the word sinners here imports such 

persons 

(g) Luke, c 1 6. v. 15. (h) Luke, c. 18. v. 9. 
(i) Matt. c. 3. v. 8. c. 9, v. 20. Rev. c. 3. v. 17. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 1 3 
persons as live in a customary practice of sin, so 
that the tenor of their lives is wicked, and who 
are therefore to be called to that repentance 
which consists in the change of their lives, from 
the service of sin to holiness, from slavery to 
Satan to the fear of God ; and therefore, by the 
righteous who need no repentance, we are not to 
understand those who are entirely free from sin ; 
for so, there is not a just man upon earth, nor 
any man who is not a sinner (k) ; but those who 
are truly and sincerely righteous, have truly re- 
formed their lives, who carefully endeavour to 
abstain from all known sins, and set themselves 
sincerely to the performance of their whole duty 
both to God and man, and so are righteous and 
acceptable in the sight of God; in -which sense 
Job was righteous and eschewed evil ; Zacharias 
and Elizabeth were righteous, walking in all the 
commandments of the Lord (I) ; and Simeon (m ); 
and so they needed not that repentance which 
consists in the change of the life from a course 
of sinning to a living u&to God." By the word 
" righteous" then, in this and several other pas- 
sages of Scripture, we are to understand those 
who are comparatively righteous, which is fully 

sufficient 

(k) Job, c 9. v. 2. EccL c. 7. v. 20. 1 Kings, c. 8. 
v. 46. Jas. c. 3. v. 2. 1 John, c. 1. v. 8. 

(I) Luke, c. 1. v. 6. (m) Luke, c. 2. v. 25. 



14 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, x, 

sufficient for our doctrine ; men who had some 
sense of moral and religious obligation, and en- 
deavoured to act in conformity to it : such per- 
sons did not want M*T&»0(a, a complete change 
of mind, an entire abandonment of old habits. 
Persons of this character are expressly acknow- 
ledged in the New Testament, " Joy shall be in 
heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than 
over ninety and nine just persons which need no 
repentance (ri)." 

Let us next consider the Parable of the Sower, 
and particularly the explanation of that seed 
which fell on good ground, and sprang up, and 
bare fruit; "that on the good ground,'' says 
Christ, " are they which in an honest and good 
heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring 
forth fruit with patience (o) :" here we have again 
our Saviour's authority for saying, that there is 
some honesty, some goodness of heart in the 
human race ; and that d liferent men possess 
these virtuous qualities in different degrees, since 
of the seed which fell upon good ground, some 
brought forth " an hundred fold, some sixty, 
some thirty (p J." And surely the admonition 
which follows this Parable, " Take heed there- 
fore how ye hear (q ) ," implies that the impression 

which 



(n) Luke, c. 15. v. 7. (0) Luke, c. 8. v. 15. 
(p) Matt.c. 13. v. 23. (q) Luke, c. 8. v. 18. 



c H a p. i .] the Operat Ion of the Holy Spirit. 1 5 

which the truths of the Gospel make opon the 
minds of men, depends upon the manner in which 
they attend to them, that is, upon the exercise of 
their own reason and free-will. I'o what pur- 
pose would this advice be given, if men had not 
the power of resisting the wiles of the devil, of 
supporting the trials of persecution, and of with- 
standing the temptations of the riches and plea- 
sures of this world, the three causes to which our 
Saviour ascribes the failure of religious in- 
struction ? 

Christ said to his disciples, " Ask, and it shall 
be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, 
and it shall be opened unto 3/011 ; for every one 
that asketh, reeeiveth ; and he that seeketh, 
findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it shall be 
opened (r)T These commands to ask, to seek, 
and to knock, prove, that our Saviour required 
some voluntary steps to be still taken by those 
who were already persuaded of the divine origin 
of the doctrines which he taught: and his assur- 
ance that every one that asketh, reeeiveth ; that 
he that seeketh, findeth; and that it shall be 

opened 

(r) Matt, c. 7. v. 7 be 8. We find a similar doc- 
trine in the Old Testament, " The Lord is with you, 
while ye be with him ; and If ye seek him, he will be 
found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake 
you." % Chron. c. 15. v a 2. e 



i6 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 

opened to him that knocketh, imply, that if men 
do not ask, they will not receive ; if they do not 
seek, they will not find ; and if they do not knock, 
it will not be opened to them ; that is, they will 
in vain hope that their " heavenly Father will 
give the Holy Spirit to them (s)" if they do not 
by their prayers and exertions endeavour to ob- 
tain his favour and assistance. 

Our Saviour represents the "man travelling into 
a far country, who called his own servants, and 
delivered unto them his goods," as saying, upon 
his return, to each of those servants, who by 
trading had gained other talents besides those 
which were entrusted to them, " Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful 
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over 
many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord (t ) :" Does not this part of the parable 
shew the power of exertion, and the certainty of 
reward ? And does not the casting of the unpro- 
fitable servant, who had hidden bis talent in the 
earth, into outer darkness, where shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth, prove, that those who 
are slothful and inactive, who do not by their 
own diligence improve the gifts which they receive 
in this life, will be severely punished in the world 
to come? 

" No 

(s) Luke, c. it. v. 13. (t) M^tt, c. 25. v. 14, &c. 



CHAP, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 1 7 

" No man," says Christ, " can come to me, 
except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him ; 
and I will raise him up at the last day... Every 
man that hath heard, and hath learned, of the 
Father, cometh unto me... He that believeth on me 
hath everlasting life (u) :" our Saviour is here 
speaking of those, who, in consequence of em- 
bracing his religion, shall inherit eternal happi- 
ness ; and he declares that no one can attain this 
saving faith, without the directing influence of the 
Holy Spirit ; and that every one who has had an 
opportunity of becoming acquainted with the evi- 
dences of the Gospel, and has duly profited by 
the instruction and assistance which his heavenly 
Father has afforded him, will partake of a blessed 
resurrection. Let it however be remembered, in 
the words of Dr. Doddridge's note upon this 
verse, that " the truth is, God's drawing does not 
exclude our consent to follow, and our activity in 
doing it ; but it always includes a divine agency." 
The words to "come" and to "learn" imply the 
exercise of the human will ; and the words " ex- 
cept the Father draw him," prove the agency of 
God with respect to the persons here spoken of, 
namely, those who shall be saved (x). 

Many 

(u) John, c. 6. v. 44, 6Yc. 

(x ) The following is the comment of Bishop Hooper, 
one of our Reformers and Martyrs, upon this text : ' c No 

C man 



iB Of Original Sim, Free-mil, and [chap, u 

Many Jews expressed their belief In Christ 
daring his ministry, and a still greater number, 
both Jews and Gentiles, embraced his religion 
when, preached by the Apostles, subsequent to 
Ms ascension into heaven. There is not a single 
passage in the New Testament, which leads us 
to suppose, that any supernatural power was 
exerted over the minds of ordinary hearers ; and 
therefore we are authorized to attribute their 
faith to the voluntary "exercise of their reason.. 
It is certain that men are capable of compre- 
hending some truths, and of judging of evidence 
in some cases ; why then should they not b& 
competent, by the use of their natural faculties, 
to understand that Jesus was the promised Mes- 
siah, a truth attested by evidence of the simplest 
and most powerful nature, by words such as 
u man never spake (y ) ™ before, by deeds such 
as were u never seen in Israel (z)" and by th« 
clearest fulfilment of prophecies which were ac- 
knowledged 

mati cometh unto mc, except my Father draw him..** 
*f Many understand these words in a wrong sense, as if 
God required no more in a reasonable man, than in a 
dead post, 'and mark not die words which -follow, 
c - Every man that hcareth, and learneth of my Father, 
cometh unto mc* God draweth. with his word and the 
Holy Ghost, but man's duly is to hear and learn 5 that 
is to say, to receive the grace offered, consent to the 
promise* and not to impugn the God that tailed*.** 
• (y) John, c. 7. v. 46. (z) Malt* c. 9* v. 33. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit, tq 

knowledged to relate to the future Redeemer of 
the world. The faith of the converts is invari- 
ably represented as the effect of what they saw 
and heard. It was produced in several instances 
by the performance of a single miracle : thus the 
nobleman of Galilee and his whole house be- 
lieved, in consequence of the recoveiy of his son 
from the point of death at Capernaum, at the 
very moment our Saviour said to him at Cana, 
" Go thy way, thy son liveth (a)" The Sama- 
ritans believed, because they " heard him them- 
selves, and knew that this was indeed the Christ, 
the Saviour of the world (b )" And our blessed 
Lord replied to the well-known message of John 
the Baptist, not by a direct answer, but by ex- 
hibiting and reciting the accomplishment of pre- 
dictions in himself, which every Jew understood to 
belong to the Messiah (c); and thus it was pro* 
nounced, that those who saw and heard what 
Jesus did, were of themselves capable of under- 
standing that he " was the Christ, the Son of 
God (djr 

u If any man will do (Ea» t*? StXy woim, if any 
man be willing to do) his will, says Christ, he 
Shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of 

God, 

(a) John, c. 4. r. 53: (b) John, c. 4. v. 4a. 
(c) Luke, c. 7. v. 19, &c. (d) Matt. c. a6. v. 63, 

c a 



2t> Of Original Sin? Free-mil, and [chap. t. 
God, or whether I speak of myself (t) A sin- 
cere disposition to obey the Divine will was there- 
fore all that was necessary, to enable a person to 
judge whether the doctrine preached by Christ 
was the Invention of man or a revelation from 
Goct No acuteness of understanding, no depth 
©f learning, no labour of research, were requisite, 
but a plain and honest mind, free from prejudice, 
and open to conviction. Nay, even where this 
good disposition was wanting, the force of the 
evidence was such, that it could not always be 
resisted ; for, " among the chief rulers also many 
believed on him ; but because of the Pharisees 
they did not confess him, lest they should be put 
out of the synagogue : for they loved the praise 
of men, more than the praise of God (f) f thesg 
men, however reluctantly, believed that Jesus was 
iue Messiah, although their faith did not produce 
a suitable conduct. 

For the manner in which the Apostles propa** 
gated the Gospel, and the doctrines which they 
taught, we must have recourse to the Acts and to 
be Epistles. 

The promised descent of the Holy Ghost, oj? 

tire 

(*) John, c. 7. v. if. 

(f) John, c. 12. v. 42 $c 43, In verses 47 and 4? s 
Christ addressed his hearers as having perfect freedom of 
dsoice s and power of understanding, either to believe or 

jej^t his words* 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Hol$ Spirit. 2t 

the day of Pentecost fg), qualified the Apostles 
to enter upon their great office of " teaching all 
nations, and baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, ami of the Holy 
Ghost (h }J* Of the various powers- with which 
they were then endowed, the gilt of tangoes was 
the most important and striking. How was it 
possible for the Apostles even to attempt the cm- 
version of those, to whom they had net the means 
of conveying any instruction ? And to hear twelve 
illiterate men, speaking, in languages wMefe it 
was certain they had never leamt, the weoderM 
works of God, could not but produce rnn®zm®ent 
in the mixed multitude, out of every nation meter 
heaven, who were then collected at Jerasalem, to 
celebrate the feast in obedience to the Law $si 
Moses* While these devout Jews were in a stats* 
of the greatest douM*and suspense,, md -utterly 
unable to account for this sudden change in the 
Apostles, St. Peter quoted to them the words of 
the Prophet Joel, in which the extraordinary ftcfc 
they now witnessed was expressly foretold ; and 
consequently they could not but consider k as the 
immediate interposition of Gad. And 
availing himself of the impression already snade 
upon their minds, he explained to them at con- 
siderable lengthy that the miracles* md wcaadefs^ 

(g) Acts, c* a; ( h) Matt, c. a& v, 



22 Of Original Sin, Free-mil, and [chap. i. 

and signs, performed by Jesus of Nazareth, were 
clear proofs of his divine mission ; and that his 
sufferings, death, and resurrection, were all pre- 
dicted by their own Prophets, and took place by 
" the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
God." " Now when they heard this, they were 
pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter, and 
unto the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren, 
what shall we do ? Then Peter said unto them, 
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost : 
for the promise is unto you, and to your children, 
and to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
Lord our God shall call. And with many other 
words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save 
yourselves from this untoward generation. Then 
they that gladly received the word were baptized." 
These new proselytes amounted to " 3,000 souls," 
whom St. Luke here represents as by degrees 
converted, before they received the Holy Ghost. 
The astonishment of these men was at first excited, 
and their attention fixed, by observing that the 
Apostles were instantaneously enabled to speak a 
great variety of languages ; and their belief was 
more fully established by listening to the discourse 
of Peter, in which he called to their recollection 
the mighty works of Jesus, and appealed, in a 

strain 



chap, i.j tie Operation of the Holy Spirit, 23 

strain of persuasive reasoning, to those very 
Scriptures which they acknowledged to be divinely 
inspired. This miracle, and these arguments, by 
their united force, gradually removed all prejudice 
and hesitation, and at length convinced them, 
that the same Jesus, whom their countrymen had 
crucified, was both " Lord and Christ," that is, 
the promised and expected Messiah. The faith 
therefore of these men was not suddenly commu- 
nicated by the supernatural operation of the Holy 
Ghost, but was the natural and progressive effect, 
of what they saw and heard ? upon their under- 
standings. 

The inhabitants of Samaria, by giving heed to 
the preaching of Philip, and fry seeing the mira- 
cles he performed, believed the tilings which he 
spake concerning the kingdom of God, and the 
name of Jesus Christ, and were baptized both 
men and women ( i). The conversion therefore 
©f these persons also was owing to the exercise of 
their own natural powers. 

It pleased Almighty God to mark the conver- 
sion of the first Gentiles,, Cornelius and those who 
were assembled with him (j) s by very extraordi- 
nary circumstances ; but before the Holy Ghost 
was poured out upon them, Peter declared the 
comprehensive and impartial nature of God's 

mercy, 

(i) ActSj c. 8. v. 12, fj) Acc% c. iOk> 
€ 4 



24 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 

mercy, and explained the evidences by which the 
divine character of Jesus was attested ; and there 
can be no doubt but this statement carried con- 
viction to the minds of men, who were " devout, 
and feared God, and prayed to God alway fie} J* 
Had it been consistent with the plan of Divine 
Providence to communicate such conviction by 
supernatural influence, the preaching of Peter in 
the house of Cornelius would have been super- 
fluous and unnecessary. 

The Ber§eans were commended " in that they 
received the word with all readiness of mind, 
and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those, 
things were so (I) and it is immediately added, 
" therefore many of them believed hence it 
appears, that the faith of the Bereeans was the re- 
sult of the candour with which they listened to 
the preaching of the Apostle, and of the diligence 
with which they enquired into the evidences of the 
Gospel. 

In the following passage, St. Paul represents 
the faith of the Ephesians in Christ to have been 
the consequence of their having heard the Gospel 
preached, and the communication of the Holy 
Ghost to have been, subsequent to their faith, 
" In whom (namely in Christ) ye also trusted, 
after that ye heard the word of truth, the Gospel 

of 

(k) Acts, c. 10. v, 2. (I) Acts, g. 17. v. 11. 



CHA*. t.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit 25 

of your salvation ; in whom also, after that ye 
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of 
promise (m) :" The order to be here noticed is 
this, — first, the hearing of the word ; secondly, 
belief produced by that hearing; thirdly, the 
-communication of the Spirit in consequence of 
that belief. 

From these examples, which comprehend 
Jewish, Samaritan, and Gentile converts, we con- 
clude in general, that those, to whom the Apos- 
tles preached, expressed their faith in Christ, be- 
fore the Holy Ghost was poured out upon 
them (nj ; and that the Spirit was never commu- 
nicated 

(m) Eph, c. 1. v. 13. The word u trusted" is not in 
the original ; but that our translators were authorized to 
insert it, or some word of the same meaning, is evident 
from, the expression in the following parr of the passage, 
" in whom also after that ye believed." The Apostle 
here marks the difference between Jewish and Gentile 
converts, " we — who first trusted in Christ, n/xas vrpbfri 
TriKOTag tv Xpirepy means, that we Jews had from our 
prophecies hope in Christ before his advent ; but he tells 
the Ephesian Gentiles, that they had no hope or trust in 
Christ till he was actually come, till they heard <f the 
word of truth" preached by the Apostles. 

(n) This was not strictly the case with respect to 
Cornelius and his company, " While Peter yet spake 
these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which 
heard the word :" but though they had not actually ex- 
pressed their faith, it is highly probable that they did be- 
lieve 



s5 Of Original Si®, Frec-witf, mi [cha?„ m 
jsicated to these wbo refused to believe. Eat 
though. men, bom and educated as Jews ©f 
Heathen, by a careful and impartial attention to 
the evidences of Christianity, and particularly 
by witnessing the performance of miracles 
in which there could be bo deception? or 
collusion, might become ? without any super- 
miura! aid, believers in the divine mission of, 
Christ, yet it is material to observe, that tliis 
belief was not always followed by steady per- 
severance, or even accompanied by just senti- 
ments and right principles, while the belief itself 
remained. Our Saviour, in his Parable of the 
Sower, already referred to, speaks of those* 44 who 
hi a whiLe believe, and in time ©f temptation 

fall 

Sr eve Before they received the Holy Ghost St, Peter^ 
in giving an account to the Apostles and Bfethren at Je- 
rusalem ? of this conversion of Cornelius and his com- 
pany? says, " The Holy Ghost fell on them as on ns at 
the beginning/' Acts, C* 1 1. v. 15. as on the Apostles on 
the day of Pentecost* Lightfoot thinks that the visible 
descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, who may 
be considered as the first Jewish converts* and up©& 
$h(*se who ^were really the first Gentile converts, being 
the same, plainly shewed^ that under the Christian dis- 
pensation, there was to be no distinction between Jews 
and Gentiles : his words are, EfBiso Spirito Sancto tarn 
in prseputium habenteSj quam in circumcisionem, palam 
factum est, Demn nnllo posthac discriroirie uzmsn sh 
altera distingui velle* V. z, p. 



chap, t] the Operation of the Holy Spirit, 27 

fall away (o)T And even " Simon Magus be- 
lieved'' at the moment he offered to purchase from 
the Apostles the power of communicating the 
Holy Ghost, for which he was severely reproved 
by St. Peter (p). The truth is, that after the 
converts were persuaded that Jesus was the Mes- 
siah, many errors were to be renounced, many 
^ins were to be abandoned, many lusts were to be 
mortified, many impurities were to be corrected, 
many duties were to be performed, many virtues 
were to be cultivated, before they could have any 
claim to the character of faithful disciples of 
Christ. Nay, the change in the minds, and 
hearts, and conduct, of those who received the 
Gospel as " the power of God unto salva- 
tion (q)" was so great, that in the strong figura- 
tive language of Scripture, true believers, who, 
having been brought up in the vices and follies of 
heathenism, had embraced Christianity at a ma- 
ture age, were said to " walk in newness of 
lite (v)y' to become " new creatures (s) 
to ic put off the old man with his deeds, and 
to put on the new man after the image of him 
that created him (t ) f to " put off, concerning 

the 

(0) Luke, c. 8. v. 13. (p) Acts, c. 8. v. 13, &c 
(q) Rom. c. 1. v. 16. (r) Rom, c. 6. v. 4. 
(s) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 17. Gal. c, 6. v. 15. 
(t) Col. c. 3. v. 9 & 10. 



%% Of Original Sin,, Free<vitl % and [cbjlki* 
the former conversation, the old man, which is 
corrupt according to the deceitful lasts, and to 
put on the new man ? which after God is created 
in righteousness and true holiness ( u }J* Let it 
not then be supposed that the business of religion 
was completed, that eternal happiness was se- 
cured, the instant the understanding became con- 
vinced that Christ was " a teacher come from 
God ( s }" " that Prophet that should come into 
the world ( y )" Not only much remained to be 
done, but that which infinitely exceeded the natu- 
ral powers of men, weakened and corrupted as 
they were by the fall of Adam, and by long and 
inveterate habits of vice and wickedness. u As 
many as received him, to them gave he power t© 
lecome the sons of God, even to them that 
feelkve on his name (z ) ? Bare belief therefore 
m Christ did not make them " the sons of God^ 
—this was to be the effect of " power from on 
high (a) n given subsequent to belie£ And 
accordingly we have just seen, that in the first 
attempt of the Apostles to propagate the religion 
©f their Master, in the very first sermon thej 
preached, after they were themselves inspired, the 
chief of them,, the other eleven standing by his 

side, 

(u) Eph. e. 4* v. 22 & 24. fx) John, c. 3^ v. 2» 
(y) John, c. 6. v. 14* (%) John, c, i,v. ia* 
<f«J Lute, c. 24. v* 4§» 



€&kt. l] the Operation of the Holt/ Spirit* 29 

tide, expressly declared, that the promise of the 
Holy Ghost was to "as many as the Lord 
our God shall call (b) ;" that is, all who shall at 
any time embrace the Christian religion shall re* 
eeive the aid of the Holy Spirit in the work of 
salvation. And this may be considered as an 
explanation of our Saviours assurance to his 
disciples, that when he departed, the Father 
would give them " another Comforter, who would 
abide with them for enteric/." Nor was ihif 
all; Peter also mpon the same occasion declared 
the appointed mode of communicating the Divine 
assistance, " Repent, and be baptized every one 
©f you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the re* 
mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Ghost (d)" without which, your pre* 
sent belief cannot be improved into that true and 
lively faith which is essential to salvation. The 
rite of baptism was ordained by Christ himself; 
and its twofold office is here described by his 
Apostle, namely^ that it washes away the guilt of 
former sins, and imparts the Holy Ghost to those 
who shall previously have repented and believed. 
It had been foretold by John the Baptist, that 
Christ should baptize with the Holy Ghost (ej, 
meaning that the baptism instituted by Christ, 

and 

(b) Acts, c. 2. r. 39. (c) John, c. 14. v. 16. 
(d) Acts, €. 2. v. 38, (e) John, c. 1, v. 33* 



go Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 
and administered by his Apostles and their suc- 
cessors, should convey the supernatural assistance 
of the Spirit of God. This communication being 
made at baptism, at the time of admission into the 
Gospel covenant, every Christian must possess 
the invaluable blessing of preventing grace, which, 
without extinguishing the evil propensities of our 
nature, inspires holy desires, suggests good coun- 
sels, and excites to just works. Nor is this in- 
fluence of the Spirit merely the advice of a friend, 
or the warning of a parent : it tells us what we 
ought to do, not with the erroneous judgment of 
man, but with the infallible truth of God. Nay 
more, it affords us actual support in the discharge 
of our duty, by strengthening our feeble nature, 
and by invigorating our virtuous resolutions. It 
is given us as a faithful guide, an indwelling mo- 
nitor, a powerful assistant. If we make a right 
^ise of baptismal grace, it is encreased (f)\ and 

by 

(f) <£ Whatever some few persons, or some petty 
sects (as the Pelagians of old, the Socinians now) may 
have deemed, it hath been the doctrine constantly, and 
with very general consent delivered in the Catholic 
church, that to all persons by the holy mystery of bap- 
tism duly initiated to Christianity, or admitted into the 
communion of Christ's body, {he grace of God's Holy 
Spirit certainly is bestowed, enabling them to perform 
the conditions of piety and virtue then undertaken by 

them ; 



chap, t-3 Operation of the Holy Spirit 31 
by repeated additions, in consequence of right, 
use, it carries forward the human soul from one 
degree of religious proficiency to another, till it qua- 
lifies us to be <( heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
Christ (g) r " Unto 3*ou that hear, shall more be 
given (h) " whosoever hath, to him shall he 
given f a whosoever hath, to him shall be 
given, and he shall have more abundance (k). n 
But if we neglect, or do despite to the Spirit of 
grace, it will be withdrawn from us, <£ He that hath 
not, from him shall be taken even that which he 
ha.th(l). n The dictates of the Spirit, and the 
lusts of the flesh, are represented by St. Paul ai 
*f contrary the one to the other (m ) if the' 
former prevail, ? the fruit is," those Christian 
graces and virtues enumerated by the Apostle^ 
-which will make us u meet to be partakers of 
the inheritance of the saints in light (n ) ; n if 
the latter, " its works are," that catalogue of 
crimes and vices which he declares will exclude 

those 

diem ; enlightening their minds, rectifying their wills, 
purifying their affections, directing and assisting them 
in their practice ; the which holy gift (if not abused, 
ill-treated, driven away, or quenched by their ill beha- 
viour) will perpetually be continued, unproved and en- 
creased to them." Barrow, v. 3. p. 371. Ed. 1722. 

(g) Rom. c. 8. v, 17^ (h) Mark, c. 4. v. 24. 

(t) Luke, c. 8. v. 18. (k) Matt. c. 13. v. 12* 

(I) Mark, c. 4. t. 25. (m) Gal, e. v« 17. 

(n) CoLc.i, v. 12. 



32* Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chaf. & 
those who do them, from the kingdom of God. 
This opposition of the flesh to the Spirit, 
and the precepts to " walk in the Spirit (o) 
? not to quench the Spirit (p)f " not to grieve 
the Spirit (q) with others of a similar nature, 
plainly prove, that the influence of the Holy 
Spirit may be withstood, and that it rests with 
ourselves whether we w ? ill obey its suggestions. 
Even St. Paul allowed the possibility of his hav- 
ing received the grace of God "in vainfrj,' 5 
and surely the same possibility must be admitted 
■with respect to all other Christians. " We must 
acknowledge/' says Dr. Jortin, " that as the 
natural abilities with which God hath originally 
endowed men, are such as they can either use or 
hegiect according to their choice and inclination ; 
so the supernatural assistances afforded to men 
by the revelation of the Gospel and by the 
influence of the Spirit, are still in the nature of 
assistances, which may either be received or re- 
jected ($)? " The whole analogy of nature 
shews , that w r e are not to expect any benefits, 
without making use of the appointed means for 
obtaining or enjoying them ( t )." "JThe terms of 
Scripture represent the Spirit of God, as an 
assisting, not forcing power, as not suspending 

our 

(sj Gal. c. 5. v. 16. (p) 1 Thess. c. 5. v. 19. 

(q) Eph. c. a 4. v, 30. (r) 1 Cor. c. 9. v. 27. c. 15, v. 10. 
(s) Diss. (t) Butler. 



Chap. i.J the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 33 

our own powers, but enabling them ; as impart- 
ing strength and faculty for our religious work, if 
we will use them ; but whether we will use them 
or not, still depending upon ourselves. Agreeably 
hereunto, St. Paul asserts, that there is no con- 
demnation to them, who walk not after the flesh, 
but after the Spirit. The promise is not to them 
who have the Spirit, but to them who walk after 
the Spirit. To walk after the flesh, is to follow 
wherever the impulses of sensuality and selfish- 
ness lead us, which is a voluntary act. To walk 
after the Spirit, is steadily and resolutely to obey 
good motions within us, whatever they cost us ; 
which also is a voluntary act. All the language of 
this remarkable chapter (Rom. 7.) proceeds in the 
same strain ; namely, that after the Spirit of God 
is given, it remains and rests with ourselves whe- 
ther we avail ourselves of it or not. i If ye 
through the Spirit do mortify-the deeds of the 
flesh, ye shall live.' It is through the Spirit that 
we are enabled to mortify the deeds of the flesh. 
But still, whether we mortify them or not, is our 
act, because it is made a subject of precept and 
exhortation so to do. Health is God's gift ; but 
what use we will make of it, is our choice. 
Bodily strength is Gods gift ; but of what advan- 
tage it shall be to us, depends upon ourselves. 
Even so, the higher gift of the Spirit remains a 

E> gift, 



34 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, t. 
gift, the value of which will be exceedingly great ; 
will be little; will be none; will be even an 
increase of guilt and condemnation, according as 
it is applied and obeyed, or neglected and with- 
stood. The 4th chapter of Ephesians, verse 30, 
is a warning voice upon the subject; ' Grieve 
not the Spirit of God therefore he may be 
grieved : being given, he may be rejected ; re- 
jected, he may be withdrawn (u)T 

" Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these 
things before, beware, lest ye also, being led 
away with the error of the wicked, fall from your 
own steadfastness : but grow in grace, and in the 
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ (x) hence it appears, that there was 
danger, lest those " who had obtained like pre- 
cious faith (y)" with St. Peter himself, those to 
whom " Divine Power had given all things that 
pertain unto life and godliness (z)" there was 
danger lest persons of this description should be 
" led away with the error of the wicked lest 
they should " fall from their own steadfastness/' 
and " wrest the Scriptures to their own destruc- 
tion^^," although they had already received 

th* 

(u) Paley's Sermons, p. 423. (x) 2 Pet. c.3^ v. 17. 
(y) 2 Pet. c. 1. v. 1. (z) 2 Pet. c. 1. v. 3. 

(a) 2 Pet. c. 3. v. 16. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 35 

the Holy Ghost. The precept, " Grow m grace, 
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ," proves, that there are degrees in 
grace and Christian knowledge, and that the 
growth and increase of these spiritual endow- 
ments must be the consequence of our own 
exertions. 

The inspired Apostle calls upon his Christian 
converts to " work out their salvation with fear 
and trembling,'* and adds immediately as a rea- 
son, " for it is God which worketh in you, both to 
will and to do of his good pleasure (b) from 
which exhortation and the ground upon which it 
is urged, it may be inferred, First, That the 
personal exertions of Christians are necessary 
for salvation, else why should they be commanded 
to work out their salvation ; and that too, " with 
fear and trembling," with an anxious care lest, 
their exertions should not be successful, and lest 
from their negligence, the furthering help of the 
Spirit should be withdrawn ? And, secondly, That 
God influences both the wills and the actions of 
Christians, " God worketh in you, both to will 
and to do." Thus does this passage incontestably 
prove both the energy of man and the operation 
of God, in the great work of salvation : in what 
manner, or in what proportion, if I may so say, 

God 

(b) Phil. c. 2. v. 12 & 13. 
P 3 



$6 Of 'Original Sin , Free-xvill, and [chap, r, 

God and man co-operate, I am utterly unable to 
explain or discover. But this is no more a reason 
for my disbelief of this co-operation, than my 
inability to comprehend the union of the divine 
and human natures in Christ is a reason for my 
disbelieving that Christ was both God and man : 
Modum quidem concursus gratise divinte cum 
humana voluntate exacte definire, ac dicere, quid- 
sola preestet gratia, quid cum et sub gratia 
liberum agat arbitrium, non exiguae difficultatis 
res est. Imo hoc ipsum inter @« GdSvr et 
kv&X, v 'U*s non immerito fortassis a viris 

doctis ac piis reponitur. Sed modum rei utcun- 
que ignoremus, res ipsa certe firmiter credenda 
est (c J. Even Augustine himself seems to ad- 
mit that the exercise of Free-will is not irrecon- 
cileable with the operation of divine grace, al- 
though in discussing these subjects it is difficult to 
maintain the one without denying the other : Si 
non est Dei gratia, quomodo sal vat mundum ?■ 
Si non est liberum arbitrium, quomodo judieat 
mundum ? Quia ista quaestio, ubi de arbitrio vo- 
luntatis et Dei gratia disputatur, ita est ad dis- 
.cernendum difficilis, ut quando defenditur libe- 
rum arbitrium, negari Dei gratia videatur ; quan- 
do autem asseritur Dei gratia, liberum arbitrium 
potetur auferri. That man possesses Free-will^ 

and 

(c) B\AX Harm, Apost. Dissert. Post. 



cha£. i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 37 

and that God by his Spirit influences this Free- 
will, without destroying it, is indisputably true; 
but how this is effected, is to us an inexplicable 
mystery. This text is also a proof that divine 
grace is not irresistible : " St. Paul, says Bishop 
Sherlock, makes God's working with the faith- 
ful, an argument for fear and diligence. From 
whence it is evident, that God does not so work 
in us as to exclude our own care and industry ; 
that is, he does not work irresistibly. For, sup- 
posing God to work irresistibly, the wit of man 
cannot make an argument out of it for private 
care and diligence. If God does every thing in 
us, whether we will or no, what is left for us to 
do ? or what have we to fear or tremble for, when 
God alone has undertaken the whole care and 
business of our redemption? The work of the 
Spirit upon the hearts of the faithful, is to actuate 
and inspire them : but to perform what is good, 
is the business of him who is actuated and in- 
spired. Now it must be allowed, that it is one 
thing to give a man power to act, another to force 
him to act. A man's will is not influenced by 
his own power. He that has ten times the power 
to do a thing that I have, is nevertheless as free 
to let it alone as I am. And though the grace of 
God gives us great power and ability to work 
out our salvation; yet the power to will and to 
d 3 work 



38 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. t. 
work is no constraint in either to will or to work 
And in this sense the grace of God is a great 
argument for diligence and care : for, if he fur- 
nishes us with power, it behoves us to see that 
we make a rig' t use of it ( d)T 

" By grace ye are saved, through faith : and 
that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God (e)T 
There is much dispute among commentators, 
whether in the original of this passage, T*7 yag 

v^w ®£is to fugov, the word tsto refers to %ctgiri 
or Tsrireug, that is, whether it be asserted, that grace 
or faith is the gift of God. It appears to me, 
that the word mro refers neither to x*giri nor to 
mreus exclusively, but to the whole sentence, Tt? 

yOC(i ftOtglTl EfB (TBUOOtT^ZVOi OICC TIJ£ ZJlfBCOg, and th^t 

the Apostle intended to declare, that salvation by 
grace through faith is not derived from man, but 
is the free-sift of God through faith in Christ, as 
he says in another place, " the gift of God is 
eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord (f)T 
By the expre ssion, " ye are saved," St. Paul did 
not mean to tell the Ephesian converts, that their 
salvation had actually taken place, or that it was 
certain ; but, that they were enabled to obtain 
salvation. Salvation itself will not actually take 

place 

(d) Sermons, v. 2. p. 85. (e) Eph. c. 2. v. 8, 
(/J Rom. c. 6. v. 23. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 39 

place till the sentence is pronounced at the day 
of judgment; and it can scarcely be supposed 
that every Christian then at Ephesus will be 
finally saved. But every person who embraces 
the Gospel is certain of inheriting eternal hap- 
piness, provided he complies with the conditions 
upon which it is promised. We meet with simi- 
lar expressions in other parts of the New Testa- 
ment : " According to his mercy he saved us by 
the washing of regeneration/^^;" no one will 
contend that every baptized person is actually 
saved, or certain of salvation, although every 
baptized person, "if he continue in the faith 
grounded and settled, and be not moved away 
from the hope of the Gospel fhj" will undoubt- 
edly be saved. The same observations will apply 
to the passages, " Baptism doth now save usfij 
"we are saved by hope {k)\ "unto us which 
are saved, it is the power of God (I);" " who 
hath saved us, and called us with an holy call- 
ing (ra)? The persons here spoken of, were not 
actually and completely saved, but being " re- 
conciled to God by the death of his SoixfnJ" 
they had now the means of salvation, of which 

they 

(g) Tit. c. 3. v. 5. (h) Col. c. 1. v. 23. 
(i) 1 Pet. c. 3. v. 21. (k) Rom. c. 8. v. 24. 
(I) 1 Cor. c. 1. v, 18. (m) 2 Tim. c. 1. y. 9. 
(n) Rom. c. 5, v. IP. 

D4 



40 Of Original Sin, Free-mil, and [chap. t. 
they could not fail but through their own neglect. 
The Gospel is called in Scripture " the way 
which leadeth unto life ;" " a new and living 
way (p) ;" and " the way of salvation ( q) ;" and 
for this inestimable benefit we are solely indebted 
to the grace of God ; it is " not of ourselves f it 
is not to be ascribed to any work or merit of our 
own ; " it is the gift of God," gratuitously offered 
to his fallen and sinful creatures. In this quo- 
tation, St. Paul says, " by grace ye are saved ;" 
and in the preceding he commanded the converts 
to " work out their salvation :" " In this, says 
Dr. Jortin, there is no inconsistency. Men are 
saved by grace, because without God's favour- 
able assistance and acceptance of their imperfect 
endeavours, they could not of themselves acquire 
eternal life ; and at the same time it is no less true 
that they work out their salvation, because unless 
they exert their own powers, the grace of God 
alone will in no wise force them to be saved. 
Thus God's working in or with us, and our work- 
ing together with God, are easily reconciled (r)T 
" The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, for we know 
not what we should pray for as we ought fsj ; y 
the Spirit helps, but does not compel us ; it sup- 
plies 

(o) Matt. c. 7. v. 14. (p) Heb. c. 10. v\ 20. 
(q) Acts, c. 16. v. 17. (r) Diss. 1st. 

(s) Rom. c. 8. v. 26. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 41 

plies the deficiency of our natural strength, by 
suggesting what is right, and by assisting our 
weakness in performing it. The Greek word 
G-vvccvTiXoctxSocvsTQii expresses the co-operation for 
which we contend, more clearly than the English 
word c< heipeth." " It literally expresses, says 
Doddridge, the action of one who helps another 
to bear a burden, by taking hold of it on one 
side, and lifting or bearing it with him ; and so it 
seems to intimate the obligation on us to exert 
our little strength, feeble as it is, in concurrence 
with his Almighty aid." 

" Draw nigh to God, says St. James, and he 
will draw nigh to you ( tj some approach there- 
fore towards God on the part of men, some 
exertion of their own Will, is necessary to obtain 
his effectual assistance. "Cleanse your hands, 
ye sinners, continues the Apostle, and purify 
your hearts, ye double minded;" sinners being 
thus exhorted to reform their lives, and those 
who are wavering and unstable to become firm 
and resolute, is a proof, that men have a control, 
not only over their actions, but also over their 
affections and principles. 

St. Peter says, " ye have purified your souls, 
in obeying the truth, through the Spirit (u) f 
that is, the purification of the souls of these 

, Christians 
(t) Jas, c.4. v. 8. (u) 1 Pet. c. i. v. 22. 



42 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. r. 
Christians was in part owing to their own act in 
obeying the truth through the assistance of the 
Spirit. And, the same co-operation of man and 
of the Spirit of God is acknowledged by St. Paul, 
when he tells the Romans, " if ye through the 
Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall 
lively." And, speaking of himself, he says, 
" whereunto I also labour, striving according to 
his working, which worketh in me mightily (y ) \ 
the mighty working therefore of the Spirit did 
not supersede St. Paul's own " labour," his own 
" striving," in conjunction with, and in confor- 
mity to, that mighty working. The same Apos- 
tle prays for " the communion of the Holy 
Ghost ( z) f and both the Greek and English 
words imply the most intimate co-operation, and 
signify that the graces and virtues, on which sal- 
vation depends, are the joint or common opera- 
tion of the supernatural power of the Holy Ghost, 
and of the natural power of man; that the Holy 
Ghost acts with men, in such manner that their 
separate or respective parts cannot be perceived 
or distinguished. And is not this similar to what 
took place in our Blessed Saviour himself? he 
was God and man in one Christ — He was per- 
fect God and perfect man. Though " in him dwelt 

all 

(x) Rom. c. 8. v. 13. (y) Col. c. I. v. 29. 
(z) 2 Cor. c. 13. v. 14. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 43 

all the fulness of the Godhead fa) yet, "he 
was in all things made like unto his brethren ( b)™ 
and " was in all points tempted like as we are fcj f 
We Christians are imperfect men, improved and 
assisted by that portion of divine grace, which it 
pleases God to bestow upon us. To Christ, God 
"gave not the Spirit by measure ( d) "he 
divideth it to every man severally as he wSilfejP 
The thoughts, words, and actions of Christ, pro- 
ceeded from the union of his divine and human 
natures ; and the graces and virtues of Christians, 
proceed from the joint and common operation of 
the natural power of man with the supernatural 
power of the Holy Ghost, for " of his fulness have 
all we received 09."' Though Christ consisted 
both of a divine and of a human nature, we find 
him in Scripture frequently called God without 
any reference to his human nature, and frequently 
man without any reference to his divine nature. 
In like manner, as the good works of men are the 
joint effect of divine and human agency, we some- 
times find them in Scripture ascribed to God alone 
without any reference to man, and sometimes to 
man alone without any reference to God. The 
texts which separately assert or imply the God- 

head 

(a) Col. c. 2. v. 9. (b) Heb. c. 2». v. 17. 

(c) Heb. c.4. v. 15. (d) John, c. 3. v. 34. 
(e) 1 Cor. c. 12. v. 11. (f) John, c. 1. v. 16. 



44 Of Original Sin, Free-wilt, and [chap, i, 
head and manhood of Christ, become perfectly 
consistent with each other, by considering that 
Christ was both God and man ; and a similar 
principle, namely, that the grace of God co-ope- 
rates with the Free-will of men, can alone recon- 
cile the numerous texts, both preceptive and de- 
claratory, which relate to human conduct, and 
which separately assert the divine and human 
agency. 

" The concurrence of God and man, says 
Archbishop Bramhall, in producing the act of 
our believing or conversion to God, is so evident 
in Holy Scripture, that it is vanity and lost la- 
bour to oppose it. If God did not concur, the 
Scripture would not say, It is God that worketh 
in us, both the will and the deed. If man did 
not concur, the Scripture would not say, Work 
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
If our repentance were God's work alone, God 
would not say to man, Turn ye unto me with all 
your heart : And if repentance were man's work 
alone, we had no need to pray, Turn us, O Lord, 
and we shall be turned. We are commanded 
to repent and to believe : In vain are command- 
ments given to them, who cannot at all concur to, 
the acting of that which is commanded. Faith 
and repentance are proposed unto us, as condi- 
tions to obtain blessedness and avoid destruction. 
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, and believe 
i with 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 45 

with thy heart, thou shalt be saved. And, Except 
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish « To propose 
impossible conditions, which they, to whom they 
are proposed, have no power ekher to accept or 
refuse, is a mere mockery. Our unbelief and 
impenitence is imputed to us as our own fault* 
Because of unbelief thou vvert broken off; and ? 
After thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou 
treasurest up unto thyself wrath. Their unbelief 
and impenitence were not their own faults, if they 
neither had power to concur with the grace of 
God to the production of faith and repentance; 
nor yet to refuse the grace of God. The Holy 
Scripture doth teach us, that God doth help us ill 
doing works of piety ; The Lord is my helper, 
and, The Spirit heipeth our infirmities. If w T e 
did not co-operate at all, God could not be said 
to help us. There is, therefore, there must be, co- 
operation. Neither doth this concurrence or co- 
operation of man, at all, entrench upon the power 
or honour of God, because this very liberty to 
co-operate is his gift, and this manner of acting 
his own institution. These words, Behold, I 
stand at the door, and knock, are not understood 
only of the minister's outward knocking at the 
door of the ear with persuasive words, but much 
more of God Almighty's knocking at the door of 
the heart, by his preventing grace. Tq what 
end doth he knock to have it opened, if he him* 

self 



46 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, i. 

self had shut it by an irresistible decree ? God 
first knocks at the door of our hearts by his 
preventing grace, without which we have no de- 
sire to open unto Christ. And then he helps us 
by his adjuvant or assistant grace, that we may 
be able to open. Yet the very name of God's 
adjuvant, or assistant, or helping grace, doth ad- 
monish us, that there is something for us to do on 
our parts ; that is, to open, to consent, to concur. 
Why should our co-operation seem so strange, 
which the Apostle doth assert so positively ? We 
are labourers together with God. And, I la- 
boured more abundantly than they all ; yet not I 
(that is, not I alone) but the grace of God which 
was with me (g)T 

The exclusive consideration of particular texts 
of Scripture, without adverting to others which 
take a different view of the subject, coupled with 
the baneful principle of believing no doctrine 
which is incomprehensible ( h), seems to have 
been the source of most of the errors which have 
prevailed in the Christian world. Thus, a per- 
son, in reading the New Testament, finds many 

passages 

(g) P. 800. 

(hj What Augustine says of Eunomius's disbelief of 
the divinity of Christ, is very generally true ef other 
heretics and their opinions, qui cum non potuisset intelli- 
gere^ nec credere voluisset, Unigenitum Dei verbum, per 
quod ficta sunt omnia, Filium esse Dei natura, hoc 
est, de substantia Patris genitum. — V. 8. p. 993. 



chap. I*] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 47 

passages in which the manhood of Christ is as- 
serted, and from them he concludes that Christ 
was man. By dwelling upon these passages, the 
idea of the manhood of Christ becomes so deeply 
fixed in his mind, that he refuses to admit any 
opinion which he fancies to be incompatible with 
it. He feels himself unable to comprehend how 
the same person could be both God and man ; 
and being convinced that Christ was man, he in- 
fers that he was not God ; and thus he falls into 
the Socinian error, of Christ being a mere man. 
Another person, in reading the New Testament, 
is first struck with the passages which assert the 
Godhead of Christ, and which are at least as 
numerous and as clear as those which assert his 
manhood ; and by a similar process he infers that 
Christ was God only; and thus falls into the 
Sabellian or Patripassian errors, of Christ being 
God the Father, and of God the Father having 
suffered upon the cross. It is the same with re- 
spect to divine and human agency : one person 
observes, in a variety of passages of the New 
Testament, the redemption of man attributed to 
the merits of Christ and the inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit ; and hence he concludes that divine 
grace is necessary to salvation : he dwells upon 
this, as a settled and uncontrovertible point, and 
being unable to comprehend how the Holy Ghost, 
and man can co-operate, he infers that man has 

no 



4$ Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. x. 
no concern whatever in working-out his salva- 
tion ( i) ; and that the thoughts, words, and 
works of those who shall be saved, are the neces- 
sary and irresistible effects of divine grace : this 
is the error of Calvinists, Another person, in 
reading the New Testament, observes repeated 
commands to believe in Christ, and numberless 
exhortations to the practice of the personal and 
social duties; hence he concludes, that belief in 
Christ, and moral virtue, are necessary to salva- 
tion ; and being unable to comprehend how the 
Spirit of God can influence the Free-will of 
men, or how the worthiness of Christ can atone 
for the unworthiness of men, he rejects the doc- 
trines of divine agency and of Christ's merito- 
rious death, and relies solely for salvation upon 
that faith and those works, which are the effect 
of his own reflection and exertions. This is an- 
other 

(i) C! There is in the language made use of to explain 
the doctrine of grace, something liable to be abused by 
ignorant or crafty men. We say, that of ourselves we 
can do nothing ; whence they conclude, that we have 
nothing to do. We say, that it is the grace of God 
which enables us to do every thing ; from whence they 
conclude, that everything must be left to the grace of 
God, and that we need only work ourselves into a strong 
persuasion that God is at work for us, and may sit still 
ourselves. And this persuasion, which is generally mere 
enthusiasm, they dignify with the name of Christian 
Faith." — Sherlock, v. 2. p. 80. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 49 

other error of the Socinians, or of those who in 
modern times have denominated themselves Uni- 
tarians, to which title they have no more an ex- 
clusive right, than Caivinists have to that of 
Evangelical divines. It is to be observed, that 
the first conclusions of these different persons 
were all true, namely, that Christ was man — that 
Christ was God — that divine grace is necessary 
to salvation — that belief in Christ, and moral vir- 
tue, are necessary to sa 1 nation. But igh ^ach 
of these propositions be true, not one of them 
contains the whole truth. Christ was mam but 
he was also God — Christ was God, but he was, 
also man — divine agency is necessary to salva- 
tion ; but we must work together with the Holy 
Spirit, or we shall have received the grace of 
God in vain — belief of the Gospel, and moral 
virtue, are necessary to salvation ; but it is a 
lively faith in the merits of Christ as our Re- 
deemer, which can alone make our good works 
acceptable in the sight of God ; and that lively 
faith can never be attained without the co-ope- 
ration of divine grace. It should be remem- 
bered, that all Scripture is given by inspiration, 
and is written for our learning. Every part of 
it is true, and equally true. It is our duty to 
read and attend to the whole. The whole Bible 
is the ground of our faith, and the rule of our 

E life 



50 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 

life. We are to compare Scripture with Scrip- 
ture ; we must add truth to truth ; and, disdain- 
ing all partial and narrow- views of the Deity and 
his dispensations, search out " all the counsel of 
God(k)" as far as it is revealed, if we wish to 
become wise unto salvation. 

In appealing to the Public Formularies of our 
church, I shall first notice the article upon Ori- 
ginal Sin, in which it is said, that " man is very 
far gone from original righteousness :" this ex- 
pression implies, that original righteousness is not 
entirely lost, that all the good qualities and prin- 
ciples, with which man was at first created, are 
not absolutely destroyed. That this is the plain 
and obvious sense of the passage, is evident from 
the following circumstance : when the Assembly 
of Divines, in the reign of Charles the First, under- 
took to reform, as they called it, our articles ac- 
cording to the Calvinistic creed, they proposed to 
omit the words, " man is very far gone from ori- 
ginal righteousness," and to substitute for them, 
" man is wholly deprived of original righteous- 
ness." It was admitted by both parties, that the 
two sentences conveyed ideas extremely different : 
and the proposed alteration was rejected by those 
who wished to maintain the antient and esta- 
blished doctrine of the church of England, in op- 
position 

(k) ActSj c. 20. v. 27. 



chap. I.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit, 51 

position to the peculiar tenets of Calvin. The 
article proceeds to say, that " man of his own 
nature inclineth to evil, so that the flesh lusteth 
always contrary to the Spirit. And this infec- 
tion of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are 
regenerated, whereby the lust of the flesh ... is 
not subject to the law of God :" the article does 
not pronounce with the Calvinists, that man of 
his own nature can perform nothing but evil, 
but that he " inclineth to evil f a doctrine funda- 
mentally different, since an inclination, though 
strong, may be conquered. The continuance of 
<tf this infection of nature," even in those who are 
baptized, and the constant lusting of the flesh 
against the Spirit, are here asserted, generally 
and indiscriminately, without any declaration that 
either the Spirit or the flesh invariably and neces- 
sarily prevails in any particular description of 
persons. It cannot therefore be pretended that 
this article gives any countenance to the Calvin* 
istic notions of sinless obedience and unspotted 
purity in the elect, and of incorrigible pollution 
and inevitable wickedness in the reprobate. 

Before we dismiss this article, it may be pro- 
per to observe, that the schoolmen ( I J * consi- 

sidered 

(I) Scholast'ci disputant quod justitia originalis non 
fuerit connatural s; sec', c u ornatus quidam addims hQ~ 
mini tanquam donum. — Luth. Op. v. 6. p. 



$2 Of Original Sin^ Free-will, and [chap, i, 

sldered u original righteousness" not as a part 
of the primitive nature of man, but as an adven- 
titious ornament or additional gift from God to 
Adam : and that the Fall consisted in God s with- 
drawing this ornament or gift, and in leaving him 
to his own real unassisted nature. This idea has 
been adopted by very few of our English divines, 
fey far the greater number maintaining, that the 
Fall produced a positive depravation of the moral 
and intellectual powers of man. And indeed the 
words of the article seem scarcely reconcilable 
with the scholastic notion ; " Original Sin is the 
corruption of the nature of every man if hu- 
man nature was corrupted, it must have been al- 
tered, depraved — a change for the worse must 
have been made in the nature of man, and not 
merely a superinduced quality removed. If ori- 
ginal righteousness, in the opinion of our Re- 
formers, had consisted in supernatural assistance, 
and the Fall in the removal of that assistance, they 
would have said, a whereby man has lost ori- 
ginal righteousness," and not, " whereby man is 
very far gone from original righteousness :" still 
less would they have said, that, in consequence of 
the Fall, u man is of his own nature inclined to 
evil," because, according to the doctrine of the 
schoolmen, man at his original formation inclined 
tQ e^ii^ and was only restrained by extraneous 

influence. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spmi, 53 

influence. " This infection of nature, continues 
the article, cloth remain :* there was, then,, ac- 
cording to the clrorch of England, an infection 
of nature at the Fall, that is, the original nature 
of man became then actually depraYett There 
is not a single passage in the Old or New Testa- 
ment, which, in its plain and obvkius sense, fa- 
vours the idea of a superinduced quality or ad- 
ventitious aid conferred on Adam prior to the 
Fall, over and above what really belonged to his 
nature; and as this opinion seems to militate 
against the words of the article? I do not tliink it 
necessary to discuss the texts which by a forced 
construction have been made to apply to it fm)~ 

In the article upon Free-will, it is saJd 5 4t The 
condition of man after the fal) of Adam is smh, 
that he cannot turn and' prepare himself by ids 
own natural strength and good worts, to faith 
and calling up 00 God;"" that is, A man cannot, 
by his own natural faculties and unassisted exer- 
tions, so counteract and correct the imperfection 

and 

(m) Whoever wishes to see the arguments tnged m 
favour of this, opinion, may read Archbishop King's Ser- 
mon on the Fall of Man, and Bishop Builds Diseouise 
concerning the First Covenant and the State of Man be- 
fore the Fall. These two are, I believe, the only a^t&o^s 
of distinction, who have supported this opinion.. Tlae 
subject is also treated very fully by Gerhardus de Pe^ 
Or, cap. 5, and the opposite opinion clearly established 

*3 



54 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. & 

and corruption derived from the fall of Adam, as 
to be able of himself to acquire that true and 
lively faith which would secure his salvation, or to 
call upon God with that sincerity, fervour, and 
devotion, which can alone give efficacy to our 
prayers. The human mind is so weakened and 
vitiated by the sin of our first parents, that we 
cannot by our own natural strength prepare it, 
or put it into a proper state, for the reception of 
a saving faith, or for the performance of the spi- 
ritual worship required in the Gospel : this men- 
tal purification cannot be effected without divine 
assistance. The faith here spoken of, is not a 
bare belief in the divine mission of Christ; nor 
is it an instantaneous communication, a sudden 
acquisition. Deliberation and reflection are ne- 
cessary, but not sufficient, to obtain it. It is the 
joint result of human exertion and divine grace. 
It is indeed the gift of God, for, without God's 
assistance, no man can possess it ; but it is a gift 
not bestowed arbitrarily, capriciously, or irre- 
spectively. This is the true sense of the words 
of the article ; and we can by no means allow 
the inferences attempted to be drawn from them 
by modern Calvinistic writers, namely, that " of 
our own nature we are without any spark of 
goodness in us," and that man has no " ability 
0Y disposition whatever with respect either to 

faith 



chap, i J the Operation of the Hof$ Spirit 55 
faith or good works," Our Reformers were con- 
vinced that the Papists exalted the powers of the 
human mind too high ; but, in framing this article 
against that error, they were cautious not to fall 
into the opposite extreme, by deling to man all 
exercise of Free-will in the formation of religious, 
principle, or in the discharge of religious dutyfnj. 
They were too well acquainted with Scripture, 
and entertained too just notions of the character 
of moral responsible beings, to intend any such 
degradation of human nature, We have seen, 
that in the days of the Apostles men were re- 
quired, when opportunity was offered them, to 
perform their part towards their conversion, and 
actually did perform it, although the perfecting 
of their faith to the purpose of salvation was un- 
questionably the work of the Spirit Miracles 
were performed, to excite notice and belief at the 
first publication of the Gospel ; and the Apostles 
appealed to the antient Scriptures, to shew that 
the prophecies relative to the Messiah were all 
accomplished in Jesus. Why were these miracles 
recorded by inspired writers, and these prophe- 
cies transmitted through so long a series of years, 
if men are not to " read, mark, learn, and in- 
wardly 

( n ) " Neither so preaching the grace of God, that 
we take away thereby Free-will ; nor on the other sick, 
so extolling Free-will, that injury be. docc to the -grace 
of God." Necessary Erudition, 
£4 



'56 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap., i. 

wardly digest*' those Holy Scriptures as the only 
ground of rational belief? Our church ascribes 
the composition and preservation of these writings 
to divine interposition, and evidently considers 
them as calculated to instruct and improve, to 
induce men to embrace and ever hold fast the 
blessed hope of everlasting life. St. Paul, when 
any of his converts fell into errors either of doc- 
trine or of practice, endeavoured- to bring them 
back to the truth as it is in Jesus, by argument, 
and by referring them either to the written word 
of God, or to the instructions which they had 
received from himself. He did not tell them to 
consult their own internal feelings, whether they 
-were in the way to heaven, but to compare their 
actions and opinions with the Gospel which he 
had preached : this was with him the only crite- 
rion of a saving faith. The corruption and impo- 
tence of human nature were the same 1 8 hundred 
years ago, which they are now ; and the Jews and 
Gentiles had far greater prejudices to contend 
with, than they have, who are born and educated 
in a Christian country ; yet the first preachers of 
the Gospel addressed the understandings of their 
hearers (nj, and enforced the necessity of a Re- 
deemer, 

(n) "In the first propagation of religion, God began 
with the understanding, and rational conviction won the 

heart* 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 57 
deemer, bv reasoning founded in the fallen and 
lost condition of man : they constantly set before 
them the folly and fatal consequences of volun- 
tarily neglecting so great salvation, and ani- 
mated 

heart. When the Holy Ghost fell on the disciples at 
the day of Pentecost, the devout men of every nation 
under heaven heard them speak in their own tongues. 
But what? Not the jargon of fanatic movements, but 
the wonderful works of God ; that is, they heard them 
give a rational account of the various parts of God's 
religious dispensations to mankind. It was just the 
samc on ail other occasions j when the Spirit first fell 
upon believers, they prophesied, that is, they explained 
the Scriptures of the Prophets. But the dissension 
amongst the Corinthians sets this matter in the clearest 
light, and shews that the first effect of inspiration is to 
give understanding. Their understanding was so en- 
larged by all spiritual gifts, that the w T ork not having 
been begun at the heart, they abused these advantages., 
to the violation of charity . . . On the whole, there- 
fore, we conclude, that that wisdom which divests the 
Christian faith of its truth, and the test of this truth, 
reason, and resolves all into internal feelings, into mystic 
spiritualism, and ecstatic raptures, instead of giving it 
the manly support of moral demonstration, that this, I 
say, can never be the wisdom which is from above., 
whose characteristic attribute is purity. Thus, on a fair"' 
trial, these illuminated Doctors have, at their very first 
entrance, excluded themselves from their high preten- 
sions : principles like these always coming from spi- 
ritual impurity, and otten leading, as we have seen, into 
the ver> sink of the carnal/' — Waiburton on Grace* 
book 2. c. j. 



58 Of Original Sin, Free-will,, and [chap, t, 

mated them to a grateful sense of the divine 
goodness, by displaying the love of God in send* 
ing " his only-begotten Son into the world, that 
whosoever believeth in him, should not perish but 
have everlasting life (o J. " If the Apostles, who 
wrote under the immediate direction of the Holy 
Spirit, knew that the irresistible influence of the 
lame Spirit would ultimately and necessarily se- 
cure the salvation of the Christians to whom they 
wrote, why did they express so much anxiety^ 
that their converts should walk worthy of their 
holy vocation, and that they should continue 
" steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in 
the work of the Lord (p}\* Is such earnestness 
mi enforcing the duty and necessity of active ex- 
ertion, consistent with that passive waiting for the 
impulses of the Spirit, which modern enthusiasts 
recommend to their hearers, or with that assur- 
ance of salvation which they so confidently incul- 
cate? If the Holy Ghost were to effect the sal- 
vation of men without any exercise of their un- 
derstanding and will, any effort of their own, 
why did our Saviour reproach the obstinate infi- 
delity of the Jews, or emphatically ask, " Why 
even of yourselves judge ye not what is right f q) ? " 

Every 

(s) John, c. 3. v. 16. (p) 1 Cor. c. 15, v. 58, 
(q) Luke 2 c, 12. v. 57. 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Sp'mt. 5§ 

Every page of the New Testament, by its argu- 
ments, by its precepts, by its doctrines, by its 
promises, by its threats, implies a freedom of 
choice, and a liberty of accepting or rejecting the 
offered means of grace. Those who call them- 
selves Christians merely because they happen to 
be born in a Christian country, but attend neither 
to the doctrines nor to the duties of the Gospel, 
seem to differ but little, with respect to the point 
now under consideration, from those to whom 
the Gospel was first preached. The process in 
both must be nearly the same. The nominal 
Christian, who has hitherto neglected the portion 
of grace vouchsafed to him at the time of his bap- 
tism, may by some cause be roused from his in- 
difference, and become convinced of the error of 
his ways— he may at length be brought to a sense 
of his duty, by listening to religious instruction, 
or by the awakening force of severe affliction ; 
but the firmest conviction of the truth of the 
Gospel, the keenest sorrow for past offences, and 
the strongest resolutions of amendment, will not, 
in his fallen and degenerate state, enable him of 
himself to " do good works pleasant and accept- 
able to God." His will must be guided, and his 
actions must be assisted, by the Holy Spirit: The 
•doctrine of preventing and co-operating grace 
thus explained, does not destroy the free-agency 

of 



So- Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, 
©£ man, by ascribing both his good will and good 
works sole!) 7 to the Fesistless influence of the Holy 
Ghost It does not call upon a man indolently 
to wait for the workings of the Spirit, without any 
©Sort of his own, any endeavour after righteous- 
ness. It encourages him to commune with his 
©wn heart, and to search the Scriptures, as pre- 
paratory steps; but at the same time it does 
not teach him to rely solely upon his own 
strength, in the great business of working out his 
salvation. On the contrary, it plainly tells him* 
that his sufficiency for that purpose is of God. 
It is to be observed, that the very expression of 
this- roth article, " The grace of God preventing 
m that we may have a good will,, and working 
with nSy 9 ' plainly shews that we also work* 
Though " it is God that worketh in us fr} 9 " je% 
we are labourers-together with God f s The 
grace of God prevents us Christians, that is, it 
goes before, it gives the first spring and rise to 
our endeavours, that we may have a good will ; 
and when this good will is thus excited, the grace 
of God does not desert us, but it works " with 
ms when we have that good will (t}" The words 

m 

(r) Phil. c. 2. v. 33. (s) r. Cor. c. 3. v, 9. 
(t) In speaking of good works, and a good will, it 
h indispensably necessary to distinguish whether we 

mea& 



chap. I.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit 6 a 
in the Latin copy of the articles are " dum yolu- 
muSj n while we will ; which still more clearly shew- 
that the grace of God and will of man act toge- 
ther, at the same moment. And the words seem 
•further to indicate that the grace of God will he 
'withdrawn, if we cease to will conformably to its 
suggestions. Thus, good works are not attributed 
by our church to the sole operation of tU^ine 
grace, but to the joint and contemporaneous ope- 
ration of divine grace and human agency. It is 
acknowledged, that man has not the disposition^ 
and consequently not the ability, to do wiiat m 
the sight of God is good, till he is influenced by 
-the Spirit of God ; but this influence of the Spirit 
is not irresistible ; it does not solely of itself pro- 
duce good works ; it does not necessarily cause 
*nen to perform good works. A man may resist 
the influence of the Holy Spirit, and do despite 

:t$ 

mean in the sight of God, or in the sight of men. A man 
may, by his own natural and unassisted powers, do works 
good in the sight of men ; and the same human judg- 
ment will call the will which produces these works 
good. But both these works and this will may be very 
far from good in the sight of a pure and holy God, « in 
whose sight the heavens are not clean," Job, c. 15. v. 15. 
and "who chargeth his angels with folly," c. 4. v. i8. 
44 The best things which we do, says Hooker^ have 
something in them to be pardoned." 



&2 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, r, 
to the Spirit of grace^ by turning to sin and wick- 
edness in opposition to its dictates. And if we 
do listen to its dictates, it must be an active obe- 
dience, and not an indolent acquiescence, to pro- 
duce the fruit of good works pleasant and accept- 
able to God. The Holy Spirit points out the way 
to health and truth and life, but 'it rests with our- 
selves whether we will follow its directions. In- 
deed, irresistible power, actually exerted over the 
minds of men in the work of salvation, is repug- 
nant to the acknowledged principles of the Gos- 
pel. Every Christian must admit, that the Gospel 
requires duty towards God and duty towards his 
neighbour; and the very idea of duty implies 
something to be done by man, which he may or 
may not do ; and this free-agency cannot exist 
where the mind is under the influence of a resist- 
less power. Men have the capacity of weighing 
the duty, expediency, and consequences of their 
actions, before they determine, and of acting ac- 
cording to the determination of their will. This 
determination of the will constitutes the morality 
of an action, which rarely depends upon any nice 
distinction. Men in general do not sin, because 
they are ignorant of their duty ; but because they 
do not choose to do what they know to be right. 
The adulterer, the murderer, the thief, are all 
fully aware that their conduct is sinful^ and that 
2 they 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit 63 

they expose themselves to future as well as to 
present punishment; and under this conviction 
they yield to the temptation, and go on in the 
paths of habitual wickedness ; " knowing the 
judgment of God, that they which commit such 
things are worthy of death, they not only do 
the same, but have pleasure in them that do 
ihemfu)" 

In the 16th article it is said, that, <£ After we 
iiave received the Holy Ghost, we may depart 
from grace given, and fall into sin ; and by the 
grace of God we may rise again, and amend our 
lives : And therefore, they are to be condemned, 
which say ? they can no more sin :." This declara- 
tion is irreconcilable with the doctrine of irre- 
sistible and indefectible grace granted exclusively 
to a few chosen persons. If grace were irresisti- 
ble, men could not depart from it, and fall into 
sin. And if our Reformers had intended to main- 
tain the doctrine of indefectible grace (x) in the 

elects 

(u) Rom. c. 1. v. 32. 

( x) Breviter refurandi sunt duo errores fanaticorum ho- 
minum qui finxerunt, renatos non posse labi, et quamvis 
labantur contra conscientiam, tamen justos esse. HaEC 
amentia damnanda est, et apponenda exempla et dicta 
Scripturae : ut Saul et David placuerunt Deo, fuerunt 
justi, etdonati Spiritu Sancto, tamen postea lapsi sunt, 
ita ut alter perierit, alter rursus ad Deum conversus 
sit. Melancthon, Loc. Com. 



t?4 Of Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap, i< 
elect, in the Calvinistic sense of the word, they 
would have described such persons, and have 
said, that though for a time they may fall away, 
yet afterwards they must rise again and amend 
their lives, The expression in the article is ge- 
neral, and signifies, that all Christians may act in 
opposition to the suggestions of grace, that amend- 
ment is always in their power, and that a relapse 
fnto sin is ai ways possible, while they continue in 
this world of temptation and trial. The Puritans 
were so convinced that the doctrine of the defec- 
tibility of grace, contrary to their own tenets, w*as 
taught in this article, that in the Hampton Court 
conference they desired that the words, " yet 
neither totally nor finally (?/)," might be added to 
the words, " we may depart from grace given 
but this addition was not allowed, and the article 
and the doctrine of the church of England re- 
mained unaltered. God gives to every man, 
through the means of his grace, a power to per- 
form the conditions of the Gospel — a power, the 
efficacy of which depends upon the exertion of 
the human will. To deny this power to any 
individual, would be inconsistent with the at- 
tributes of God ; to make this power irresistible, 
would destroy the free-agency of man. This 

power, 

(y ) Collier's Eccles. Hist. & Heylin's Hist, Quinq, 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 6$ 

power, though proceeding from an Omnipotent 
Being, is, as exercised upon men, always finite. 
The limited strength of the human body is de- 
rived from a God of infinite might, and the ex- 
ertion of that strength is left to the will of man : 
in like manner the pure and holy gifts of the 
Spirit, which are imparted to the human mind 
" by measure/' are derived from a God of infi- 
nite purity and holiness, and the use of these 
limited gifts is also left to the will of man. The 
analogy holds, perhaps, still farther ; were men to 
continue in a perfectly inactive state for any con- 
siderable time, the bodily strength would be 
weakened, and at length lost ; and in like manner, 
the spiritual strength, if neglected and not ex- 
erted, will also be weakened and lost. We know 
and feel that temporal enjoyments of the highest 
value and importance, are, under the blessing of 
God, the result of our own industry and pru- 
dence ; and Scripture assures us, that the attain- 
ment of eternal happiness is made to depend 
upon our own choice and exertions. The sloth- 
ful servant gains no credit w ith his earthly mas- 
ter — the indolent Christian will receive no reward 
from his heavenly Lord. We find the most per- 
fect consistency in all the dispensations of God, 
the closest analogy between what we experience 

F in 



66 On Original Sin Free-will, and [chap. r. 

in this world , and what we are taught to expect 
in that which is to come. 

The Baptismal Service in the Liturgy is exactly 
conformable to our interpretation of the 9th and 
10th articles. It declares, that all men are 
conceived and born in sin ;" it represents baptism 
as washing away the sin of children, as the means 
of delivering them from the wrath of God, 
and of sanctifying them with the Holy Ghost; 
and it describes the Christian religion as a cove- 
nant between God and man, and asserts that 
Christ, " for his part, will most surely keep and 
perform the promise he has made in his Gospel;" 
and that the infant, by his sureties, must, " for 
his part, promise to renounce the devil and all his 
works, and constantly believe God's holy word, 
and obediently keep his commandments." The 
form, therefore, by which persons are admitted 
members of our church, while it acknowledges, 
the corruption of human nature and the commu- 
eation of supernatural aid, implies, that faith and 
obedience are in some degree in our own power. 

It cannot escape the observation of an atten- 
tive reader, that the Morning and Evening Services 
of our church scarcely allude to the corruption of 
man by the fall of Adam ; and it is remarkable, 
that in several of the prayers, which are translated 

from 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 67 
-from prayers in more antient liturgies, passages 
are omitted, which relate to this Dice and delicate 
subject (z). In one collect ( a), however, we pray 
thus, " O God ! who knowest us to be set in the 
midst of so many and great dangers, that by rea- 
son of the frailty of our nature we cannot always 
stand upright; grant to us such strength -and pro- 
tection, as may support us in all dangers, and 
carry us through all temptations which words 
imply, that though we cannot always avoid sib, yet 
the frailty of our nature does not cause us inva- 
riably and necessarily to fail in every danger, or 
to yield to every temptation ; but that all dangers 
cannot be escaped, or ail temptations resisted, 
without divine assistance. In a second collect (b) 
we pray, " O God, .... because through the 
weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good 
thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, 
that in keeping thy commandments we may please 
thee, both in will and deed ;" which is nothing more 
than altering the words of one of our articles, 
already explained., into the form of a prayer; and 
I have only to observe, that the " good thing" 
here mentioned, must mean good in the sight of 
God : such an action our weak and unassisted 
nature will, unquestionably, not allow us to per- 
form. 

(z) Laurence's Sermons, p. 281. 
(*) 4th of Epiphany, (b) 1st Sunday after Trinity, 
F 2 



68 On Original Ski, Free-will, <md [chap. i. 
form. Upon a third occasion we pray in these 
words, <c We beseech thee, Almighty God, look 
upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, 
and stretch forth the right hand of thy majesty, to 
be our defence against all our enemies (c). n The 
desires therefore of the human heart are some- 
times such that God may be supposed to view 
them with complacency, to assist, and promote 
them. 

In many of the prayers of our liturgy, the doc- 
trines of Free-will and Divine grace, as asserted in 
the l oth article, are fully and clearly recognized ; 
and human exertions are considered both as pos- 
sible and necessary. In the collect for Easter- 
day we pray thus, u Almighty God, .... we hum- 
bly beseech thee, that as by thy special grace 
preventing us, thou dost put into our minds good 
desires ; so by thy continual help we may bring 
the same to good effect here preventing grace 
is acknowledged as putting good desires into our 
minds, but we are represented as ourselves bring- 
ing them to good effect through the continual 
help of .God ; that is, in bringing good desires to 
effect, divine grace and human exertions co- 
operate. 

In the collect for the sixth Sunday after the 

Epiphany, 

(c) 3d Sunday in Lent. 



chap. i.J the Operation of the H&ty Spirit. 69 

Epiphany, we pray, " O God, whose Messed 
Son was manifested, that he might destroy the 
works of the devil., and make us the sons of 
God, and heirs of eternal life; grant us, we 
beseech thee, that having this hope, we may pu- 
rify ourselves, even as he is pure we here pray 
that we may purify ourselves* even as Christ him- 
self is pure; which surely implies, that when 
animated by the hope of becoming the sobs of 
God and heirs of eternal life, we hare power to 
contribute in some degree to our purification, 
although we cannot attain, or even approach, the 
purity of Christ, without divine assistance, la 
the collect for the second Sunday after Easter, 
we pray "God to give us graee s that we may 
daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed 
steps of Christ's most holy life by the sugges- 
tion therefore, and with the help, of God's grace, 
we endeavour to -follow the example of Chns% 
which shews that the grace of God does not act 
with compulsory force, but only directs and as- 
sists our endeavours* 

In the collect for the ninth Sunday after Tri- 
nity, we pray to God, that w we, who cannot do 
any thing that is good without him* may by Mm be 
enabled to live according to his will we here 
confess our own weakness, and pray GckI to 
enable us to obey his will ; which seems incona- 
f 3 p&tlbk 



70 On Original S'm, Free-will, and [chap, i, 
patible with the idea of his acting solely and ir- 
resistibly. 

In the collect for the first Sunday after Epi- 
phany, we pray to God not only that " we may 
perceive and know what things we ought to 
do, but that we may have grace and power 
faithfully to fulfil the same were grace irre- 
sistible, did it necessarily and solely produce a 
godly life, there would be no room for faithful- 
ness on our part. In this prayer we entreat our 
Heavenly Father to enable us to know and per- 
ceive our duty, and therefore admit the insuffi- 
ciency of our natural strength for this purpose, 
without the aid of the Spirit of God ; but at the 
same time we acknowledge, that our own faith- 
fulness, our sincere and uniform endeavour to 
obey the known will of God, is necessary to ren- 
der this divine grace efficacious, and to produce 
a right application of this supernatural power. 
Faithfulness implies free-agency, a power to obey 
or to disobey. A servant is faithful to his master, 
but a machine necessarily executes the will of its 
maker. A kind master will reward the fidelity of 
a servant, although, he has only done what it was 
his duty to do ; and an all-merciful God has gra- 
ciously promised to reward the faithfulness of his 
rational creatures with everlasting happinesSj for 
the sake of his blessed Son. A grateful servant 

will 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit, Ji 

will disclaim all right to the reward of his earthly 
master, and an humble Christian will acknowledge 
eternal life to be the free-girt of God through 
Jesus Christ. 

In these, and in numerous other passages of 
our public fonmikries 7 the necessity of divine 
assistance is acknowledged, but in no one instance 
is the exertion of irresistible grace declared or 
supposed. On the contrary, the necessity of the 
concurrence or co-operation of man is universally 
expressed or understood. We pray to God for 
the help, the assistance, the guidance of the Holy 
Spirit : which words cannot but imply the con- 
currence of our own wills and endeavours, some 
co-operation on our part. It will not be imagined 
that I mean that God could not exercise an irre- 
sistible power over the minds and actions of men, 
I only maintain ; that we have no ground to believe 
that he does exercise such a power. It is not 
our business to speculate upon what God could 
have done to cause our obedience and secure our 
salvation : it is enough for us to search the Scrip- 
tures, and learn what God actually has done and 
promised, and then to consider what remains to 
he done by ourselves. After all the volumes 
which have been written upon the subject, the 
argument against the doctrine of irresistible grace 
lies in a very narrow compass. It has pleased 
f 4 God 



72 On Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. & 

God to make us responsible beings; responsibi- 
lity cannot exist without free-agency ; free-agency 
is incompatible with an irresistible force ; and, 
consequently, God does not act with irresistible 
force upon our minds. 

The language of the Homilies, respecting 
the corruption of human nature, and the ne- 
cessity of divine assistance, is also very deci- 
sive : I shall quote only the following passage, 
which is sufficient to prove that they do not 
represent our own care and exertions as fruit- 
less and unnecessary, or the Spirit of God as 
acting irrespectively and irresistibly; " Let the 
misery and short transitory joys spied in the ca- 
sualty of our days, move us while we have them 
in our hands, and seriously stir us to be wise, 
and to expend the gracious good-will of God to 
us ward, which all the day long stretcheth out 
his hands, as the Prophet saith unto us, for the 
most part his merciful hands, sometimes his heavy 
hands, that we being learned thereby, may escape 
the danger that must needs fall on the unjust, 
who lead their days in felicity and pleasure, with- 
out the knowing of God's will towards them, but 
suddenly they go down into hell. Let us be 
found watchers, found in the peace of the Lord, 
that at the last day we may be found without spot 
and blameless. Yea, let us endeavour ourselves, 
2 good 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 73 

good Christian people, diligently to keep the 
presence of his holy Spirit. Let us renounce all 
uncleanness, for he is the Spirit of Purity. Let 
us avoid all hypocrisy, for his holy Spirit will flee 
from that which is feigned. Cast we off all 
malice and all evil will, for this Spirit will never 
enter into an evil- willing soul. Let us cast away 
all the whole lump of sin that standeth about us, 
for he will never dwell in that body that is sub- 
dued to sin. We cannot be seen thankful to 
Almighty God, and work such despite to the 
Spirit of Grace, by whom we be sanctified. If 
we do our endeavour, we shall not need to fear. 
We shall be able to overcome all our enemies, 
that fight against us. Only let us apply ourselves 
to accept that grace that is offered to us (d)" 

But while the church of England, in every part 
of its public formularies, asserts the doctrines of 
preventing and co-operating grace, it gives no 
countenance to enthusiasm, properly and justly so 
called. The real orthodox Divine maintains, in 
the sense just now explained, " that every true 
Christian is inspired, enlightened, sanctified, and 
comforted by the Spirit of God ;" but he rejects 
all claim to private revelation, all pretensions to 
instantaneous and forcible conversion, and to the 
sensible operation of the Spirit ; in short, he dis- 
claims 

■(d) P. 417. 



74 On Original Sin* Free-willy and [chap. i„ 
claims what, in the language of modem Calvinists* 
are called Experiences ; that is, suggestions of 
perceptions, known and felt to be communicated 
I>y the immediate inspiration of God. This is 
by no. means to confound a Christian inwardly 
with a Christian only outwardly ; it is not to ex- 
dude the heart and affections from the business 
of religion * it is not to deny the indispensable 
necessity of supernatural aid, or the actual assist- 
ance of the Holy Spirit ; it is not to extol our 
natural powers beyond their just limit ; or to reiy 
upon them solely in working out our salvation : 
l)ut it is to guard against the delusions of spiritual 
pride r and against unscriptural notions of the 
manner in which the Holy Ghost operates upon 
the minds of men ; it is to prevent the rapturous" 
lights of a heated imagination, and to call the 
attention to the plain and practical duties of ra- 
tional devotion; it is to invite men to confide in 
the promised support of divine grace, without fos- 
tering an unwarranted conceit of familiar inter- 
course with God ; it is to promote the exertion 
of those faculties which we have received from 
our Maker, and to direct them, under infallible 
guidance, to the purposes for which they were 
given us, the glory of God and the salvation of 
our own souls. It is to encourage true zeal, 
¥ital piety, and Christian humility, without in- 
curring^ 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 75 

curring the dangers of wild fanaticism, listless 
indolence, dangerous security, or agonizing de-. 
spondence ; it is to inculcate the genuine doctrines 
of the Gospel, and of our Church, " in the words 
of truth and soberness,^/' I do not merely 
acknowledge, but I earnestly contend for the 
doctrine of the operation of the Holy Ghost. I 
only maintain, that the operations of the Spirit 
cannot be discerned from the operations of our 
own minds ; that we cannot know whether we be 
under the guidance of the Spirit, except by com- 
paring our lives and principles with the word of 
God. Let those who think differently, point out 
the authority in Scripture, or in our public for- 
mularies, for saying, that a man may feel the* in- 
fluence of the Holy Ghost, so as to distinguish 
what sentiment, what intentioa, what inclination, 
or what resolution, is owing to that influence- 
Let it be remembered that I am speaking of the 
ordinary course and circumstances of man's life. 
I do not mean to assert, that the comfort and 
assistance of the Holy Spirit are never felt by 
truly good and pious persons, on extraordinary 
occasions. This would be to contradict both 
Scripture and experience. It would be to deprive 
the Christian of his best support and consolation 

under 

.(e) Acts, c, 26. v. 25. 



j6. On Original Sin, Free-mill, and [cifap. 
suad'er the severe trials, temptations, and aHictioiis ? 
to. which it pleases God to subject his faithful 
servants in this probationary world; and to check 
the confidence of approaching bliss, which some- 
limes beams upon his dying hours, and gives an 
animatins; lesson to the witnesses of his death. 
I conceive, however, that the few persons who may 
Be distinguished by this marlt of special favour,, 
w ill be found among those whose works correspond 
with their professions of faith, whose affections 
are really set on things above, while they neglect 
no duty within their sphere of action, whose 
hearts are prepared by habitual devotion for the 
gifts of the Spirit, and who evince an humble 
sense of their own unworthiness, and a' sincere 
Belief in lh€ superintending providence and con- 
trolling power of God, by a cheerful resignation 
to his will, and a constant trust in his protection, 
without falling into the .presumptuous excesses to 
which these doctrines are carried hy the arrogant 
- enthusiasts of the present day. 

• The difficulties with which the parochial clergy 
have now to contend, arise from the perversion 
and abuse of true doctrines, by misguided or ill- 
designing men. It is no easy matter to define 
w 7 kh precision where truth ends, and error begins. 
That human nature is corrupt, is a true doctrine; 
but it is not true., that it is so corrupt that all 

endeavour 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 77 
endeavour on our part to amend it must be totally 
ineffectual. The depravity of human nature is 
the ground upon which the necessity of redemp- 
tion* rests; but to represent this depravity ms 
utterly incorrigible, is destructive of every human 
effort, of all moral virtue, and of every earthly 
comfort. If men be persuaded that they cannot 
arrive at any degree of goodness, they will be apt 
either to yield to every temptation, because -they 
fancy resistance useless, and thus become pro- 
fligate in the extreme ; or, anticipating the pains of 
future punishment, they will suffer all the miseries 
of religious despair. The clergy therefore cannot 
caution their parishioners too strongly against lis- 
tening to those preachers who are continually 
describing man as irrecoverably sunk in sin and 
wickedness; they should impress upon their 
minds the duty and necessity of exertion ; and 
teach them, that the frailty and corruption derived 
from our first parent will not be admitted as as 
excuse for criminal indulgences, since we are 
assured that we shall always be assisted by divine 
grace in our struggles to withstand the evil pro- 
pensities of our nature: " God is faithful, who 
will not suffer us to be tempted above that we 
are able ; but will with the temptation also make a 
way to escape, that we may be able to bear it (f)T 

We 

(f) 1 Cor. c. 10. v. 13. 



7$ On Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. 1, 

We must however be careful not to represent men, 
even in their most improved state, as deserving 
of positive reward at the hands of their Almighty 
Creator. The obnoxious and unfounded doc- 
trine of human merit, held by the church of Rome, 
fosters pride and presumption. The equally 
erroneous and baneful doctrine of moral inca- 
pacity, in the extent unhappily adopted by Calvin, 
tends to produce hopeless" melancholy, or har- 
dened profligacy (gj. The former exalts too 
high, the latter depresses too low, the powers of man. 
Our church, with its usual accuracy and judgment, 
avoids both these errors, by considering men as ca- 
pable of contributing in some degree to their own 
moral and religious improvement, through the in- 
fluence of God's preventing grace ; and by main- 
taining that their constant and zealous exertions to 
purify their hearts and minds, will be furthered by 
more ample supplies of divine assistance ; not be- 
cause of their own deserts, but for the sake of their 
blessed Redeemer. Obedience is commanded, 
and it is therefore our duty ; our practicable duty, 
or it would not have been commanded. We are 
expressly told, that when we have done all " those 
things which are commanded us," we are still 

" unprofitable 

(g) Non equidem nego quin multi audientes nihil 
esse boni in nobis, sibi in suis vitiis liberius indulgeant* 
Calv. in Phil. c. a. v. 13, 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit, yg 

u unprofitable servants (h ) f we can have no 
right to reward ; and an eternal reward, as a mat- 
ter of right, ought not even to be named among 
us. But who can say, he has done all ? What 
man liveth and sinneth not? In many things we 
all offend ; and pardon is the object of the daily 
petitions which our Lord himself enjoined* 
Where then is boasting ? It is excluded and dis- 
claimed. It is one thing to say, that such an 
action, performed from a sincere desire to obey 
the will of God, is partly the effect of our own 
voluntary exertion ; and another, to boast of the 
action as in itself meritorious. It is one thing to 
trust to the goodness of God, as declared in Scrip- 
ture, for the effectual assistance of the Holy 
Spirit ; and another to assert, that from our own 
intrinsic merit we have a right to divine favour 
here, and to reward hereafter. The " promise of 
the life that now is, and of that which is to 
come (i)" the means of grace, and the hope of 
glory, we owe solely to the undeserved mercy of 
God through. the merits and mediation of his 
blessed Son, It is not possible for man, with 
reference to the original connexion between the 
creature and his Creator, to have any merit 
towards God ; for whatever powers and qualifica- 
tions 

(b) Luke, c. 17. v. 10. (I) 1 Tim. c. 4. v. 8. 



So On Original Sin, Free-will, and [chap. i. 

tions he possesses, he has received them all from 
God ; and God has a right to every exertion which 
man can make. But God has been pleased to 
enter into a covenant with man, subsequent to the 
rules and directions which he gave him at his 
creation, and to promise certain privileges and 
blessings, upon the performance of certain condi- 
tions. This new Dispensation, so far from being 
the consequence of any right conduct in man, is 
founded in his misconduct, the first intimation of 
future redemption being given immediately after 
the Fall, at the moment God was denouncing 
punishment upon the disobedience of Adam. It 
is to be acknowledged in all its parts as entirely 
gratuitous, as proceeding solely from the free 
mercy of God ; and our performance of the re^ 
quired conditions is not to be considered as con- 
stituting any merit in us, or conferring any right 
to reward, independent of his promises. If the 
conditional offer of spiritual aid in this world, and 
of eternal happiness in the next, had not been 
made, the same conduct in us, supposing that 
possible, would have given no claim to favour or 
reward from God here or hereafter, a right to any 
recompence from God being absolutely impossi- 
ble. I am here speaking upon the ground of strict 
justice, and upon no other ground can the abstract 
question of merit be argued. The question 

becomes 



chap, i.] the Operation of the Holy Spirit. 8i 

becomes of a totally different nature where pro- 
mises, arising solely from kindness and mercy, 
are concerned (I). We know that " he who 
hath promised is faithful ( m) ;" and therefore we 
rely upon his promises, without feeling that we 
had any reason to expect them. We entertain a 
blessed hope, that " among all the changes and 

chances 

(I) " Faithful promise makes due debt. This was 
all that the antient church did ever understand by the 
name of Merits : Let Petavius bear witness, Antiqui patres 
omnes, et prae ceteris Augustinus, cumque iis consentiens 
Romana et catholica pietas agnoscit merita eo sensu, 
nimirum ut neque Dei gratiam ulla antecedant merita, 
et hsec ipsa turn ex gratia, turn ex gratuita Dei pollici- 
tatione tota Dendeant. . . .It is an easv thing for a wrans;- 
ling sophister to dispute of merits in the schools, or for 
a vain orator to declaim of merits out of the pulpit: 
but when we come to lie upon our death beds, and pre- 
sent ourselves at the last hour before the tribunal of 
Christ, it is high time both for you and us to renounce 
our own merits, and to cast ourselves naked into the 
arms of our Saviour. That any works of ours (who 
are the best of us but unprofitable servants) which pro- 
perly are not ours, but God's own gifts ; and if they 
were ours, are a just debt due unto him, setting aside 
God's free promise and gracious acceptation, should 
condignly by their own intrinsic value deserve the joys 
of heaven, to which they have no more proportion than 
they have to satisfy for the eternal torments of hell; 
this is that which we have ren unced. and which we 
never ought to admit." Abp. Bramhall, p. 37. 
(m) Heb, c. 10. v. 23. 



$$ Of Original Sin, Free-will, £$c. [chap, r, 

chances of this mortal life we shall ever be de- 
fended by God's most gracious and ready help r 
and finally by his mercy obtain everlasting life/' 
without pretending to any right inherent in our- 
selves, any merit from our own performances 
which could entitle us to such blessings : indeed 
we feel a sort of presumption even in disclaiming 
every thing of this nature, every species and 
degree of merit. The Pelagian doctrine therefore, 
Gratiam secundum merita nostra dari, which is sa 
justly reprobated by Augustine, is equally con- 
demned by us. But we contend, that God is 
pleased so far to reward the right use of baptismal 
grace, and to accept our sincere though feeble 
endeavours after righteousness, as to give us the 
farther assistance of his Holy Spirit. For this 
u increase of grace" we pray in our Litany ; and 
knowing that " God is able to make all grace 
abound towards us (n)" in humble confidence 
and grateful acknowledgment that " our sufficiency 
is of God (o), n " not as though we were already 
perfect, but forgetting those things which are be- 
hind, and reaching forth unto those things w^hich 
are before, we press toward the mark, for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus (p). n 

(n) 2 Cor. c. 9. v. 8. (0 ) 2 Cor. c. 3, v, 5. 
(p) Phil c. 3. v. 14, 



Of Regeneration, 



S3 



CHAPTER THE SECOND. 
OF REGENERATION". 

A S the term Regeneration, or New-birth, is fre* 
rjfv^V quently used by modern Calvinists, when 
speaking of their favourite tenets of instantaneous 
conversion and indefectible grace, it may be pro* 
per to explain the /application and true meaning 
of this word in Scripture, and in the Public For- 1 - 
mularies of our Church. 

It was observed in the former chapter, that the 
transgression of Adam causes all his posterity to 
be born with a corrupt nature ; that the recovery 
from this fallen condition cannot be accomplished 
but through the atonement of Christ ; and that 
baptism is, by the appointment of our Saviour 
himself, the form and seal of admission into his 
religion. Those who are baptized are imme- 
diately translated from the curse of Adam to the 
grace of Christ; the original guilt which they 
brought into the world is mystically washed away ; 
and they receive forgiveness of the actual sins 
which they may themselves have committed ; they 
become reconciled to God, partakers of the Holy 
% 2 ' Ghosts 



§4 Of Regeneration, [chap. r?„ 

Ghost, and heirs of eternal happiness ; they ac- 
quire a new name, a new hope, a new faith, & 
new rule of life. This great and wonderful change 
in the condition of man is as it were a new nature^ 
a new state of existence ; and the holy rite by 
which these invaluable blessings are commu- 
nicated is by St. Paul figuratively called " Re- 
generation ( q )" or New-birth. Many similar 
phrases occur in the New Testament, such as, 
" born of water and of the Spirit ( r) f " begotten 
again unto a lively hope (s)f " dead in sins, 
and quickened together with Christ ( t) :" " buried 
with Christ in baptism ( u) y " born again, not 
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible (x ) f 
these expressions all relate to a single act once 
performed upon every individual — an act essen- 
tial to the character of a Christian, and of such 
importance that it is declared to be instrumental 
to our salvation, w baptism doth now save us, by 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ (y)'" " according 
to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Rege- 
neration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (z)\ 
" except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God (a)" "As we are not naturally 

men 

(q) Tit. c. 3. v. 5. ( r) John, c. 3. v. 5. 

(s) 1 Pet. c. 1. v. 3. (t) Eph. c. 2. v. 5. 
(u) Col. c. 2. v. 12. (x) 1 Pet. c. 1. v. 23; - 
(y) i Pet. c. 3. v. 21. (z) Tit.c. 3. v. £. 
(a) John, c. 3. v. 3, 



chap. Ti.] Of Regeneration. $5 

men without birth, so neither are we Christian 
men, in the eye of the church of God, but by 
mxv-birth; nor, according to the manifest ordinary 
course of divine dispensations, new-bom, but by 
that baptism which both deciareth and maketh us 
Christians. In which respect we justly hold it to 
be the door of our actual entrance into God's 
house, the first apparent beginning of life ( b }P 
Christians then have, what Bishop Pearson calls 
"a double birth ( c)," namely, a natural birth 
from Adam, and a spiritual birth from Christ. 
There cannot be two natural births, neither can 
there be two spiritual births. There cannot be 
two first entrances into a natural life, neither can 
there be two first entrances into a spiritual life. 
There cannot be a second" Baptism, or a second 
Regeneration. Baptism conveys the promise of 
those privileges and blessings which God has been 
graciously pleased to annex to the profession of 
the Christain faith, and as a he is faithful that 
promised ( d)"~ a. repetition of the promise is 
never necessary ; being once made by Him, cc with 
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turn- 
ing (e)" it continues in force for ever. The pro- 
mise is indeed conditional ; and if men neglect to 
perform the conditions, they have no longer any 

claim 

(b) Hooker, Book 5. (c) On the Creed, Art, 1. 
(d) Heb. c. 10. v. 23. (e) Jas, c. i. v. 17* 



86 Of Regeneration. [chap. if. 

claim to the privileges and blessings of the cove- 
nant into which they entered. Those Christians, 
who, in the primitive age, had fallen into error or 
relapsed into wickedness, are never in the New 
Testament exhorted to regenerate themselves, or 
taught to wait in a passive state for Regeneration 
by the Holy Ghost. They are called tipon to be 
renewed, " Be renewed in the spirit of your 
mind (f) f " Be ye transformed by the renewing 
of your mind ( g) ;" " The inward man is renewed 
day by day fAJ," which indicates a progressive 
improvement, and not a sudden conversion. The 
restoring those w-ho had departed from the truth 
as it is in Jesus,, is net called regenerating tfa in, 
but " renewing them again unto repentance ( i)" 
St. John, in the Revelation, commands the 
churches, which held unsound doctrine, or were 
guilty of immoral practices, not to be regenerated, 
but to " repent Q). n The word Regeneration 
therefore is in Scripture solely and exclusively 
applied to the one immediate effect of baptism 
once administered, and is never used as synony- 
mous to the repentance or reformation of a 
Christian, or to express any operation of the 
Holy Ghost upon the human mind subsequent to 

baptism. 

(f) Eph. c. 4. v. 23. (g) Rom.c, 12. v. 2. 

(h) 2 Cor. c. 4. v. 16. (i) Heb. c. 6. v. .6. 
(j) Rev, c. 2, v. 5 & 16. c, 3. v. 3 & 19. 



chap, ii.] Of Regeneration. 87 
baptism. " And the Christians did in all antient 
times continue the use of this name for baptism ; 
so as that they- never use the word regenerate or 
•born again, but that they mean or denote by it 
baptism (k ) " 

We shall find this word used exactly in the 
same manner in our Liturgy, Articles, and 
Homilies. In the beginning of the service of Pub- 
lic Baptism of Infants, we pray, that the infant 
brought to be baptized u may be washed and 
-sanctified with the Holy Ghost ; may receive re- 
mission of his sins by spiritual Regeneration ; 
may be born again ; and that the old Adam may 
be so buried, that the new man may be raised up 
in him." Immediately after the priest has bap- 
tized the child by pronouncing the words com- 
manded by our Saviour, and has signed him with 
the sign of the cross in token of his new pro- 
fession, he proceeds to say, " Seeing now that 
this child is regenerate (I) and grafted into the 

body 

(k) Wall's Hist, of Inf. Bapt. Int. Sect. 6. 

(I) " There have been, says Dr. Nicholls on Com- 
mon Prayer, some very unreasonable exceptions taken 
against this expression : as if all persons who are bap- 
tized were truly regenerate, whereas several of them 
prove afterwards very wicked. But this objection is 
grounded upon a modern notion of the "word Regene- 
ration, which neither the antient Fathers of the church, 

nor 

g 4 



88 Of Regeneration. [chap. ii. 

body of Christ's church." And in the concluding 
prayer, the priest returns " thanks to God that it 
hath pleased him to regenerate this infant with 
the Holy Spirit, and to receive him for his own 
child by adoption, and to incorporate him into 

his 

nor the compilers of our Liturgy, knew any thing of. 
Indeed some writers of the last century run into this new- 
fangled phrase, to denote conversion, or a returning 
from a lapsed state, after a notorious violation of the 
baptismal covenant, to an habitual state of holiness. But 
no antient writer that I know of, ever expressed this by 
the word Regeneration. Regeneration, as often as 'tis 
used in the Scripture books, signifies the baptismal Re- 
generation. There is but one word which answers to 
this in the New Testament, and that is Ua^yfeveaia, and 
that HdtoyfevEffia refers to baptism, is plain, by having the 
word terpov joined with it, 4 According to his mercy he 
saved us, ha terpa Tla^iyUvto-ia^ by the washing of Rege- 
neration.'— T ft. c. 3. v. 5. Our Saviour indeed made 
use of the like expression before the Apostle to Nico- 
demus, 4 Except a man ytmfa avuQsv be born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God.' — John, c. 3. v. 3. 
But what he means by being born again, he explains, 
verse 5, by directing it positively to baptism ; * Except a 
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter 
into the kingdom of God/ Regeneration in the lan- 
guage of the Fathers constantly signifies the participa- 
tion of the sacrament of baptism:" in proof of this he 
quotes passages both from the Greek and Latin Fathers, 
and adds, that the language of the schoolmen, and of 
<' the most eminent divines of the Reformation, *' is ex- 
actly the same, the word keeping " the antient sense fay 
1600 years," 



chap, ii.] Of Regeneration, 
bis holy church ;" and it is added, that " God 
for his part will most surely keep and perform 
his promise of releasing him from his sins, sanc- 
tifying him with the Holy Ghost, and giving him 
the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life." — In 
the service of Private Baptism, immediately after 
the baptismal words are pronounced, it is said, 
" this child being born in original sin, and in the 
Wrath of God, is now by the laver of regene- 
ration in baptism, received into the number of the 
children of God, and heirs of everlasting life," 
And the service of Baptism of such as are of riper 
years, begins thus, " Forasmuch as all men are 
conceived and born in sin, and that which is born 
of the flesh is flesh, and they that are in the flesh 
cannot please God, but live in sin, committing 
many actual transgressions ; and that our Saviour 
Christ saith, None can enter into the kingdom of 
God, except he be regenerate and born anew of 
water and of the Holy Ghost ; I beseech you to 
call upon God the Father, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that of his bounteous goodness he 
will grant to these persons that which by nature 
they cannot have ; that they may be baptized 
with water and the Holy Ghost, and received 
into Christ's holy church, and be made lively 
members of the same." And after the baptismal 
wprds are pronounced, the persons baptized are 

declared 



go Of Regeneration. [chap. ii. 

declared to be " regenerate and new-born again." 
• — It is impossible for language to be more explicit 
and decisive than these passages quoted from our 
three Forms of Baptism. 

In the Catechism it is said, that the inward and 
spiritual grace of baptism is, " a death unto sin r 
and a new birth unto righteousness ; for being by 
nature bom in sin, and the children of wrath, we 
are hereby made the children of grace." 

In the office of Confirmation, the Bishop, after 
the renewal of the baptismal vow, but previous to 
the laying on of hands, prays thus, " Almighty 
and everlasting God, who hast vouchsafed to 
regenerate these thy servants by water and the 
Holy Ghost, and hast given them forgiveness of 
all their sins," evidently referring to the rite of 
Baptism. And in the Collect for Christmas-day, 
again in allusion to our Christian Baptism, and to a 
passage of Scripture already quoted, we pray to Al- 
mighty God, that " we, being regenerate and made 
his children by adoption and grace, may daily be 
renewed by his Holy Spirit;" here, " being regene- 
rate," is a translation of regenerati, having been 
regenerated by baptism (m). To these positive 
proofs we may add an argument of a negative 
nature, namely, that in all the numerous passages 
of our Liturgy, which suppose the sinfulness of 

Christians 

(m) Vide Nichclls's Preface to the Supplement. 



chap, ii.] Of Regeneration. 91 

Christians after baptism, and enforce the duty of 
repentance and amendment, the word Regeneration 
is not once used. "Whence we may conclude, 
that our Reformers, who were perhaps more accu- 
rately acquainted with the doctrines and language 
of the New Testament, than the Divines of any 
other age or country since the days of the Apostle?, 
did not think it consistent with the principles of 
the Gospel to require Regeneration from those 
who were already baptized. Xor do they ever 
apply the word Regeneration to any operation of 
the Holy Ghost, except at the time of baptism. 

In the qth article, those w that are regene- 
rated"' and those " that believe and are baptized" 
are mentioned as the same persons. The 15th 
article speaks of all Christians as being u baptized 
and born again in Christ." And the 27th article 
says, that " baptism is a sign of Regeneration or 
new-birth/' meaning, that the external form is a 
sign of the internal effect. These are the only 
instances, in which the word Regeneration, or any 
expression of the same import, occurs in the 
Articles. 

In the Homilies we find the following passages; 
in speaking of Churches, " wherein be ministered 
the sacraments and mysteries of our redemption/* 
it is said, " the fountain of our Regeneration is 
there presented unto us ; the partaking of the 

body 



Of Regeneration. [chap. it. 

body and blood of our Saviour Christ is there 
offered unto us (n )" signifying Baptism and the 
Lord's Supper : <£ Our Saviour Christ altered and 
changed the same [the practice of frequent wash- 
ing among the Jews] in his church into a pro- 
fitable sacrament, the sacrament of our Regenera- 
tion or new-birth ( o)" that is, baptism. "He 
saved us by the fountain of the new-birth, and by 
the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he poured 
on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Sa- 
viour, that we, being once justified by his grace, 
should be heirs of eternal life, through hope and 
faith in his blood (p)T 

Hence it appears, that neither Scripture, nor 
the writings of our Church, authorize us to call 
upon those who have been baptized, whether in 
their infancy, or at a mature age, to regenerate 
themselves, or to expect Regeneration through the 
workings of the Holy Ghost. It is highly proper 
to exhort them to repent and to reform (q), to 
preserve or to repair that regenerate state which 
the Spirit once gave them ; to remind them, as 

St. Paul 

(n) P. 229. (0) P. 243. (p) P. 345. 

(q) " Though inculcating perpetually, that without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord, is indispensably 
needful ; yet preaching the necessity of being regenerated, 
as a thing still absolutely wanting to a great part of those 
who call themselves disciples of Christ, is using a lan* 
3 g ua g e 



chap. ii.J Of Regeneration. g$ 
St, Paul reminded his converts, that " they were 
buried with Christ by baptism into death, and 
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by 
the glory of the Father, even so they also should 
walk in newness of life (r). n But this is very 
different from teaching them to wait for a second 
Regeneration — a sudden conversion — a sensible 
operation of the Holy Spirit effecting a total and 
instantaneous change in their hearts and disposi- 
tions. Let them rather be admonished to take a 
serious, strict, and impartial review of their past 
lives ; let them compare their conduct with the 
unerring rule of Gods written commandments; 
let them consider the folly and danger of continuing 
in sin ; let them determine to abandon their 
wicked ways ; let them earnestly and faithfully 
pray for spiritual aid ; let them thus renew their 
minds, and they may rest assured that their pious 
resolutions and virtuous exertions will be strength- 
ened and promoted by " power from on high." 

Regeneration of those, who are already bap- 
tized, by the forcible operation of the Spirit, is one 

of 

guage not conformable to that of Scripture, nor indeed 
of the primitive Fathers, or the offices of our own Li- 
turgy ; which declares every person who is baptized, to 
be by that very act, regenerated and grafted into the body 
ef Christ's church.'' Seeker's Sermons, V. 5. p. 390. 
(r) Rom. c, 6, v. 4. 



g4 Of Regeneration. [chap. ti. 

of the doctrines, by which the weak credulity of 
unthinking persons is imposed upon in the present 
times. It is a dangerous illusion, calculated to 
flatter the pride and indolence of our corrupt 
nature. It is an easy substitute for that " Godly 
sorrow which worketh repentance for that real 
amendment of life which consists in mortifying 
our carnal lusts, in forsaking " the sin which 
doth most easily beset us," and in an active and 
conscientious endeavour to obey the revealed will 
of God. Men, who fancy that they have received 
this second birth, consider themselves full of 
divine grace, are too often regardless of the laws 
both of God and man, affect to govern them- 
selves by some secret rules in their own breasts, 
urge the suggestions of the Spirit upon the most 
trifling occasions, and pretend the most positive 
assurance oj their salvation, while perhaps they 
are guilty of the grossest immoralities, and are 
treading under foot the Son of God by the most 
palpable departure from the plain and simple 
rules of his pure and holy religion ; or at least by 
boasting of the peculiar favour of Heaven, they 
imitate the persons spoken of in the Gospel, who 
<£ trusted in themselves that they were righteous, 
and despised others (s). :t 

Regeneration 

(s) Luke, c. 1 8. v. 9. 



chap, ii,] Of Regeneration. 95 
Regeneration then in its true sense signi- 
fies an inward effect produced by the Holy 
Ghost through the means of baptism, where- 
by the person baptized exchanges his natural 
state in Adam for a spiritual state in Christ 
Water applied outwardly to the body, together 
with the grace of the Holy Ghost applied inwardly 
to the soul, regenerates the man ; or in other 
words, the Holy Ghost, in and by the use of water 
baptism, causes the new-birth. And the words 
Regeneration and New- birth are never used in the 
New T Testament, or in the writings of our Church, 
as equivalent to conversion or repentance, inde- 
pendent of baptism. The instantaneous conver- 
sion of persons already baptized, by the resistless 
and perceptible power of the Holy Ghost, and 
their being placed in a state of salvation from 
which it is impossible for them to fall, are un- 
founded and mischievous tenets, utterly irrecon- 
cilable with Scripture and the doctrines of the 
Church of England. The design of Christianity 
is indeed to remedy the corruption and depravity 
of human nature, and to restore it to that image 
of God in which Adam was created, and which by 
transgression he lost — but this is not done by sud- 
den and violent impulses of the Spirit — it must 
be, as I observed in the former Chapter, the pro- 
gressive 



§6 Of Regeneration. [chap, ir, 

gressive result of calm and serious reflection, firm 
resolution, zealous exertion, and constant vigi- 
lance, aided by the co-operation of divine grace. 
The frame and temper of the mind will thus be 
gradually improved; the force of sinful temptations 
will grow less and less ; we shall " daily proceed 
in all virtue and godliness of living (t)? " till we 
come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the 
stature of the fulness of Christ ( u)T 

(t) Bapt. Service. (u) Eph.c. 4. v. 13. 



[ 97 ] 



CHAPTER THE THIRD. 
OF JUSTIFICATION, FAITH, AND GOOD WORKS. 

ALTHOUGH there must really and necessa* 
rily be the most perfect harmony between 
authors who write under the immediate influence 
of the Divine Spirit, yet it is certain, that there is 
some appearance of inconsistency in the different 
books of the Sacred Volume. To the improper 
interpretation of seemingly contradictory texts, we 
may justly attribute many of the errors and con- 
tests, which have divided and harassed the Chris- 
tian Church. No passages have given rise to 
more eager disputes among Divines, both in the 
present and in former times, than those which 
relate to Justification, Faith, and Works, which, 
like the subjects of Original Sin, Free-will, and 
Grace, considered in the first Chapter, are closely 
connected with each other; and I shall now en- 
deavour to explain the true doctrine upon these 
controverted points (x). 

My 

(x) Osiander narrat viginti discrepantes sententias 
de Justiricatione. Bellarminus, Lib. 2. de Just. cap. 1. 
Salmeron 22 discrepantes de Justificatione sentential* 
Lutheranis tribuit. Cent. Magd. 

H 



98 Of Justification, Faith y [chap* in* 

My first inquiry shall be, in what senses the 
words Justification and Faith are used in the New 
Testament, and in the Public Formularies of ouv 
Church. 

Justification is a forensic term — to be justified 
before God, signifies to be declared and accounted 
as just or righteous in his sight. The application 
of this word in the New Testament is not confined 
to Christians, St. Paul and St. James both speak 
of the Justification of Abraham (y ). The for- 
mer Apostle says of the Jews, " Not the hearers- 
of the law are just before God, but the doers of 
the law shall be justified (z ) ;" and of the Hea- 
then he says, " The Scripture, foreseeing that God- 
would justify the Heathen through Faith, preach- 
ed before the Gospel unto Abraham (a) f and 
speaking both of Jews and Heathen, he says, 
6i It is one God, which shall justify the circum- 
cision by Faith, and uncircumcision through 
Faith ( b )" In the following passage the word is 
applied to all mankind at the day of final retribu- 
tion, " Every idle word that men shall speak, they 
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment ; 
for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by 
thy words thou shalt be condemned (c) J* 

Such 

(y ) Rom. c. 4. v. 2. Jas. c. 2. v. 21. 
(%) Rom. c. 2. v. 13. 

(a) Gal. c. 3. v. 8. (b) Rom. c. 3. v. 30. 
£c) Matt, c. 12. v. 36 &37,-~This declaration was 

addressed 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 99 

Such is the extensive use of the word justify ; 
but our more particular concern is, to ascertain 
its exact meaning when applied to Christians 
exclusively. For this purpose, we must have 
recourse to the Apostolical Epistles ; and I have 
to observe, as a very important consideration, that 
when thus applied it always refers to the present 
life. Justification of Christians means Justifica- 
tion in this world, as in these passages, " And 
such (namely thieves, covetous, drunkards, revil- 
ers, and extortioners) were some of you ; but ye 
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are 
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the 
Spirit of our God (d) here St. Paul represents 
the Corinthian Christians as having been formerly 
guilty of great sins, but as being now washed, 
sanctified, and justified ; that is, as having been 
baptized, as having abandoned their former wick- 
edness, and as having been justified from their 
former guilt, in the name of Christ, and through 
the operation of the Divine Spirit at the time of 
baptism : it is evident that in this passage nothing 
is spoken of as future ; the washing, the sanctifi- 

cation, 

addressed by our Saviour to the Pharisees, who blas- 
phemously asserted that he cast out devils by Beelzebub 
the prince of the devils, and seems intended to admonish 
us, that words as well as actions will be the subject of 
judicial inquiry at the last day. 

(d) 1 Cor. c, 6, v, 11, 
H 2 



ioo Of Justification, Faith, [chap. 

cation, the Justification, were all events which had 
already taken place. " Being justified by Faith, 
we have peace with God (e) \ St. Paul here 
speaks of living Christians, who, in consequence 
of having been justified from their former sins 
through Faith in Christ, have now peace with God. 
The following text is still more clear, and points 
out the difference between Justification and Salva- 
tion, " Being now justified by his blood, we shall 
he saved from wrath through him (f) here also 
Justification is spoken of as having already taken 
place, Salvation as being future ; that is, Justifica- 
tion is in this world, Salvation in the next. Justifi- 
cation is the remission of sins here on earth ; Sal- 
vation is the attainment of happiness in heaven. 
Not a single passage can be found in the Epistles, 
or indeed in any part of the New Testament, in 
w T hich Justification or justify, when applied to 
Christians exclusively, that is, when treated of as 
belonging to them as such, denotes the sentence 
to be pronounced at the day of judgment. Nor 
do the Apostles ever tell their converts, that they 
will hereafter be justified; but always address 
them as persons who hare been justified. 

If we examine our Articles, we shall there find 
the word invariably used in the same sense : in the 
l ith article it is said, " Vy r e are accounted right- 
eous/ 

fe) Rom.c. 5. v. t, (f) Rom. c. 5. v. 9* 



chap, in.] and Good Works. % 101 

€ous," and " we are justified ;" which are synony- 
mous expressions, both in the present tense, and 
referring to the present life. 

The 1 2th article speaks of " Good Works which 
follow after Justification," and consequently Justi- 
fication must be in this life. 

The title of the 13th article is, " Of Works 
before Justification ;" which implies that there are 
works after Justification, and consequently that 
Justification takes place in this life. 

In the 17th article, the distinction is clearly 
marked ; it is there said of the elect, " They be jus- 
tified freely, they w r alk religiously in Good Works, 
and at length by God's mercy they attain to ever- 
lasting felicity :" being justified and walking in 
Good Works must refer to this life, as attaining to 
everlasting felicity refers to the next. 

The word does not occur in any other of the 
39 articles. 

The Homily " On the Salvation of Mankind,' 9 
in strict conformity to the 12th article, speaks of 
4 'Good Works necessarily to be done afterwards (g) " 
(that is, after a man is justified) ; and the same 
Homily uses the expression, " baptized or justi- 
fied," considering Justification as taking place at 
baptism, and consequently in this life; "Our office 
is not to pass the time of this present life unfruit- 
ful]? 

(g) Part the 1st. 
H 3 



102 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. iit. 

fully and icily, after that we are baptized or justi- 
fied, not caring how few Good Works we do to the 
glory of God, and profit of our neighbours (h). n 

Faith, in several parts of the New Testament, 
and especially in the nth chapter of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, is attributed to persons who lived 
prior to the times of the Gospel (i) ; but my pre- 
sent business is to inquire into its signification 
when applied to Christians. 

In writing to the Corinthians, St. Paul says, 
ft Though I have all Faith, and have not charity, I 

am 

(h ) Part the 3d. 
(t) It is said in this chapter, that tt without Faith 
it is impossible to please God," v. 6 : By Faith must 
be here meant, not Faith in Christ exclusively, but 
a species of Faith, varying in different men according 
to the different means afforded them of knowing and 
practising their duty. For in this chapter we find 
Faith, a Faith pleasing to God, attributed to a great 
variety of persons living at very different times and 
under difFerent dispensations, from Abel the son of 
Adam, to David and the Prophets under the Jewish 
ceconomy. The Gentiles " w T ere a law unto themselves," 
and their Faith consisted in believing that a compliance 
with that law was acceptable to the Deity. The efficacy 
however of this Faith, whether in the Patriarchs, the 
Jews, or the Gentiles, must still be derived from the 
merits and through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who 
died for the sins of the whole world. Thus it appears 
1 that 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 103 
am nothing (k) ;" and to the Ephesians he says, 
* £ By grace are ye saved through Faith flj:" in 
the former passage, Faith is declared to be an use- 
less qualification ; in the latter, nothing less than 
the power of attaining eternal salvation is ascribed 
to it through the grace of God. An useless 
Faith, and a saving Faith, cannot be the same ; and 
consequently the word is used by this inspired 
writer in different senses. The Faith, which a 
man may possess, and yet be " nothing," is a 
bare belief of the truth of the Gospel, without any 
love or gratitude to God for the blessings it con- 
veys, or any practical regard to the duties it 
enjoins. The Faith, which is the means of salva- 
tion, is that belief of the truth of the Gospel, which 
produces obedience to its precepts, and is accom- 
panied by a firm reliance upon the merits of 
Christ. That there is a species of Faith which is 
of no value, we learn also from St. James, " Faith, 
if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (mj 
and the same conclusion may be drawn from St. 
-Peter's exhortation to his converts, to u add to 

their 

that no human being was ever born into the world, and 
arrived at the age when he had the full use of his reason, 
who had it not in his power to please God. Calvin 
acknowledges that the word Faith is used in Scripture in 
various senses. Lib. 3. cap. 2. sect. 13.* 
(k ) 1 Cor. c. 13. v. 2. (I) Eph. c. 2. v. 8. 
(m) Ch. 2. v. 17, 
H 4 



104 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 

their Faith, virtue, temperance, and charity," and 
from his declaration, that " he that lacketh these 
things is blind, and hath forgotten that he was 
purged from his old sins ( nj" 

Our 12th article speaks of a " true and lively 
Faith," which epithets imply that there is a Faith 
which is not true and lively ; and our Homilies 
are very full in their discrimination between these 
two sorts of Faith. It will be sufficient to quote 
the following passage: " It is diligently to be 
noted, that Faith is taken in the Scripture two 
manner of ways. There is one Faith which in 
Scripture is called a dead Faith, which bringeth 
forth no Good Works ; but is idle, barren and 
unfruitful... And this Faith is a persuasion and 
belief in man's heart, whereby he knoweth that 
there is a God, and agreeth unto all truths of 
Gods most holy word contained in the Holy 
Scripture, so that it consisteth only in believing 
in the word of God, that it is true... This dead 
Faith therefore is not that sure and substantial 
Faith, which saveth sinners. Another Faith there 
is in Scripture, which is not, as the foresaid Faith, 
idle, unfruitful, and dead, but worketh by charity 
(as St. Paul declareth ch. 5. Gal.) (0) which, as 

the 

(n) 2 Pet. c. 1. v. 5, &c. 

(o) " FaitTi which worketh by love/' v: 6. The 
words Charity and Love were formerly used in the same 
sense, 



chap, in.] and Good Works, 105 
the other vain Faith is called a dead Faith, so may 
this be called a quick or lively Faith. And this is 
not only the common belief of the articles of our 
Faith, but it is also a true trust and confidence of 
the mercy of G od through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and a steadfast hope of all good things to be re - 
ceived at God's hand... And this Faith is not with- 
out the love of God and of our neighbours, nor 
without the fear of God, nor without the desire 
to hear God's word, and to follow the same 
in eschewing evil and doing gladly all Good 
Works (p). n 

By attending to this limited sense of the word 
Justification, and to the two-fold meaning of the 
word Faith, when applied to Christians, we shall 
be able to understand and reconcile all the pas- 
sages, both in Scripture and in our Public Formu- 
laries, in which these words occur. 

It has been already intimated, that the subject 
of Justification is mentioned in several of the Apos- 
tolical Epistles, but it is discussed at the greatest 

length 

(p) Homily, " Of the true and lively Faith.' 5 Fides 
illa^ cui tot et tanta tribuuntur in Novo Testaeato, prom 
unica ac simplici virtute nequaquam sumenda est. Suo 
enim ambitu omnia Christians pietatis opera compre- 
hends. Ubicunque autem accipitur ut opus per se 
distinctum, atque ab aliis omnibus virtutibus disjunctum, 
tantum abest ut ei primas tribuat Spiritus Sanctus, 
ut postcharitatem fere tertio loco ab ipso Paulo collocetur. 
I Cor. c. 13. Bull Harm. Apost. p. if. 



io6 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, hi, 

length in the Epistle to the Romans. St. Paul, 
after shewing that all mankind, both Jews and 
Gentiles, were equally under sin, and Hable to 
condemnation and punishment by that God whose 
laws they had violated, declares, "Now the right- 
eousness of God without the law is manifested, 
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even 
the righteousness of God, which is by Faith of 
Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that 
believe : for there is no difference : for all have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; be- 
ing justified freely by his grace, through the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God 
hath set forth to be a propitiation through Faith 
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the 
remission of sins that are past, through the forbear- 
ance of God; to declare, I say, at this time, his 
righteousness : that he might be just, and the 
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where 
is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? 
Of works ? — Nay: but by the law of Faith* 
Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by 
Faith without the deeds of the \&w (qj" The 
general doctrine of Justification thus stated, may 
be resolved into these three parts : First, The 
meritorious cause on account of which we are 
justified: Secondly, The condition to be performed 

by 

(q) Rom. c. 3. v. 21 — 28. 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 107 
by ourselves, to render that cause efficacious : and, 
Thirdly, The motive which led to the appointment 
of this mode of Justification. First, God is said 
to have u set forth Christ to be our propitiation to 
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins." 
Christ is our propitiation, that is, the atonement 
made by his death is the meritorious cause of the 
remission of our sins, or of our Justification. The 
characteristic blessing of the Christian Religion is, 
that it provides a satisfaction for sin : to this 
inestimable benefit it has an exclusive claim : 
" By Him all that believe are justified from all 
things, from which they could not be justified by 
the law of Moses (r)" or by any previous dispen- 
sation. 

(r) " The Apostle (St. Paul)^ in this discourse, says 
Dr. Barrow, implies that no precedent dispensation 
had exhibited any manifest overture or promise of par- 
don, and upon that account we are in a main point de- 
fective ; for the light of nature doth only direct to duty, 
condemning every man in his own judgment and con- 
science, who transgresseth ; but as to pardon, in case of 
transgression, it is blind and silent : and the Law of 
Moses rigorously exacteth punctual obedience,, de- 
nouncing in express terms a condemnation and curse to 
the transgressors of it in any part ; and so it was a law 
Jy duvapevog ZaoTrowroUy not able to give life, Gal. c. 3. 
v. 21. or save us from death. Hence doth the Apostle 
lay down this as the foundation of this whole dispute, 
that the Gospel alone was the power of God through 
Faith to the salvation both of Jew and Gentile, Rom. 

c. 1. 



io$ Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 

sation. Secondly, Does this cause operate neces- 
sarily, and produce our Justification as its una- 
voidable effect? No; it operates " through Faith 
in his blood ; ,? that is, the means by which it 
operates is our Faith in the death of Christ. If 
we have not that Faith, if we do not embrace the 
Gospel when proposed to us, Christ is not our 
propitiation ; and consequently, Faith is the con- 
dition to be performed by ourselves, to render the 
death of Christ effectual to our Justification. And 
the same thing is expressed in a preceding verse, 
" The righteousness of God [is manifested] which 
is by Faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all 
them that believe ( s) Belief or Faith is here 
also pronounced to be the condition of Justifica- 
tion. Thirdly, The motive which led to the ap- 
pointment of this mode of Justification, is con- 
tained in these words, " being justified freely by 
God's grace :" it was the mercy of God, his good 
will towards men, which alone induced him to 
appoint this gracious mode of Justification. It 

was 

c. i. v. 1 6 Sc 17. because in that alone was the right- 
eousness of God by Faith revealed to beget Faith in them, 
even the Faith by which the just shall live, declaring 
that no precedent dispensation could justify any man 3 
and that a man is justified by Faith, or hath an absolute 
need of such a Justification as that which the Gospel 
tendereuV ' 

(s) Rom. c. 3. v. 22. 



<chap. in.] and Good IVorks. 109 

was done " freely" and gratuitously, without any 
merit in us, any claim on our part, when we were 
all sinners, when the whole world was guilty in the 
sight of God, and must otherwise have perished 
everlastingly. " Where is boasting then? It is 
excluded. By what law ? Of works ? Nay, but 
by the law of Faith." Boastings cannot be ex- 
cluded by the law of works, that is, by the Law of 
Moses, because in that dispensation God sent 110 
one to be " the propitiation for our sins (t ) no 
one " gave himself for us, an offering and a sacri- 
fice to God (u) ;" there is no " Mediator between. 
God and men and therefore if the works 

of the Mosaic law do justify, it must be on account 
"of their own merit, and the performance of them 

must 

(t) 1 John, c. 4. v. 10. (u) Eph. c. 5. v. 2. 

(x) 1 Tim. c. 2. v. 5. — Upon the subject of i( the 
Efficacy of the Mosaic Atonement as applied to cases 
of Moral Transgression," vide Dr. Magee's Discourses, 
V. 1. p. 308. The learned author admits that <c the 
blood of bulls and of goats could not take away sins," 
*« but as connected, in the eye of Faith, with that 
rnore precious blood-shedding which can purge the 
conscience from dead works to serve the living God." 
If therefore we consider the Mosaic Dispensation as 
independent of the Christian, if we suppose Moses 
to have delivered the lav/ to the Jews, and Christ not 
to have died for the sins of mankind, the legal sacri- 
fices would have had no atoning power with respect 
to moral guilt. The efficacy of all propitiation for sin. 
is derived from the merits and sufferings of Christ. 



no Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 
must be attended with a ground for boasting. It 
is otherwise with " the law of Faith," or the Gos- 
pel of Christ, where boasting is excluded by deny- 
ing merit to Faith, and by referring all merit to 
Christ, from whose death the justifying efficacy of 
Faith is wholly derived. This is a fundamental 
difference between the two Covenants, the law of 
works and the law r of Faith, the Dispensation of 
Moses and the Gospel of Christ. The Jews 
proudly boasted of the observance of their exter- 
nal ordinances as constituting merit, and conferring 
right to the favour of God ; but Christians are 
taught, after thev have done all, to confess them- 
selves unprofitable servants, and to rely humbly 
and solely upon the merits and mediation of their 
Blessed Redeemer for acceptance at the Throne 
of Grace. " The Lord hath laid on him the ini- 
quity of us all (3/ J f " Who his own self bare our 
sins in his own body ( z) ;" " He was made sin for 
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the 
righteousness of G od in him (a) f " Of him are 
ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us 
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, 
and redemption (b) :" There is, as it were, a 
mutual transfer of the sins of men to Christ, and 
of Christ's righteousness to men ; so that God no 

longer 

(y) Is. c. 53. v. 6. (z) 1 Pet. c. 2. v. 24. 

(fi) 2 Cor. c. 5, v. 2i. (b) 1 Cor. c s 1. v. 30* 



chap, in.] and Good JWorks. lit 

longer " imputeth their trespasses unto themf c )>* 
and he is c< the justifier of him which believeth in 
Jesus (d)T Christ being himself " without sin," 
voluntarily underwent the punishment due to 
sin ; and we enjoy the benefits of his righteousness 
and passion, in being f; reconciled to God fej" 
and made " heirs of salvation (fjT 

Every individual of the human race having 
violated the commands of God, no one could be 
justified upon the ground of his works ; no man 
could claim Justification as a debt due to his un- 
varied observance of the law under which he 
lived. Had there been such an unvaried observ- 
. ance in any one, it would have given him a title, 
upon the ground of strict justice, without any 
grace or favour, to the sentence of Justification ( g). 

And 

(c) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 19. (d) Rom. c. 3. v. 26. 

(e) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 20. (f) Heb. c. 1. v. 14. 
" God gives us all these benefits of the New Covenant 
as certainly for the sake of Christ and his righteousness, 
as if we had satisfied him, and merited them ourselves ; 
and that thus far Christ's righteousness is ours in its 
effects, and imputed to us, in that we are thus used for 
it, and shall be judged accordingly." Allen, Preface 
to the two Covenants. 

(g) It has been observed, that Justification is a fo- 
rensic term. We are to suppose a moral agent called' 
before a competent tribunal, to answer whether he has 
obeyed die laws which were prescribed to him as the 

rule 



112 Of Jicstification y Faith, [chap, in 

And this is what St. Paul means, when he says ? 
" to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned 
of grace, but of debt (h)" Uniform obedience 
being the duty of every man, a single transgression 
would destroy the right to Justification, and " in 
many things we offend all (i)" Since then Jus- 
tification is due to no one on the ground of works* 
or uniform obedience, to whomsoever Justification 
is granted, it must be an act of grace. It rested 
with God to declare upon what condition he 
would grant this act of grace, and we have seen 
that it pleased him to appoint Faith in Christ as 
this condition ; and therefore, as St. Paul says in 
the next verse, £{ to him that worketh not, (that 
is, who has not by his works obeyed the law 
under which he formerly lived) but believeth on 
him that Justine th the ungodly, his Faith is 
counted for righteousness (k)f and soon after he 
says, " Therefore it is of Faith, that it might be 
by grace (I) :" Faith then stands in the place of 
righteousness, or uniform obedience • and through 

the 

rule of his conduct : if upon examination it shall appear 
that he has obeyed the laws, he has a right to the sen- 
tence of Justification ; but if it shall appear that he has 
not obeyed them, he is subject to the sentence of con- 
demnation. Strictly speaking, reward is not included 
in the idea of Justification. 

(h) Rom. c. 4. v. 4. (i) Jas. c. 3. v. 2. 

(k) Rom. c. 4. v. 5. (I) Rom. c. 4. v. 16. 



on a p. in.] and Good Works. 1 13 

the mercy of God obtains for the transgressor 
that Justification as an act of grace, which his own 
uniform obedience, had it taken place, would 
have obtained for him as a debt of justice, but 
which he could not claim, because he had not 
bee a uniformly obedient. And this is what St, 
Paul means, when he says, " If by grace, then is 
it no more of works ; but if it be of w r orks, then 
is it ho more grace (m ) :" if it be an act of 
justice, in consequence of a man's works, or uni- 
form obedience, it is not an act of grace ; and if 
it be an act of grace, it is fidt in consequence of 
his works. A claim from works, and grace 
through Faith, are incompatible. A man cannot 
obtain Justification upon both grounds, works and 
grace ; in the one ease he would have fulfilled the 
law, in the other case he would not . have ful- 
filled it. 

We find the same doctrine, as far at least as 
the condition of Justification is concerned, clearly 
asserted in the Epistle to the Galatians, "A man 
is not justified by the works of the law, but by 
the Faith of Jesus Christ ; even we (that is, even 
we Jews, who were born under another Covenant 
with God) have believed in Jesus Christ, that we 
might be justified by the Faith of Christ, and not 
by the works of the law : for by the works of the 

law 

(m) Rom, c. 11. v. 6. 

1 



114 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, itt, 

law shall no flesh be justified ( n )." " No man is 
justified by the law in the sight of God, it is 
evident : for, the just shall live by Faith. And the 
law is not of Faith : but, the man that doeth them 
shall live in them ( o) f meaning, that the pro- 
mises of the law are not made upon condition of 
believing, but upon condition of doing. This 
doing must be undeviating obedience, for, " Cursed 
is every one that continueth not in all things 
which are written in the book of the law to do 
\htm(p)" and all having violated the law, no 
one could be justified by it. " But the Scripture 
hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by 
Faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that 
believe ( q); y the Scripture has pronounced every 
individual of the human race to be guilty of sin, 
that the promise of Justification and life through 
Faith in Christ might extend to all, both Jews and 
Gentiles, who shall comply with the condition of 
sincerely believing in his name. 

In these texts, not only the justifying power of 
Faith in Christ is asserted, but it is also declared 
that the works of the law do not contribute to 
Justification. This explicit renunciation of the 
works of the law was directed against the mis- 
taken notion, that the observance of the rites and 

ceremonies 

(n) Gal. c.l. v. 16. (o) Gal. c. 3. v. 11 & 12. 
(p) Gal. c. 3. v. 10, (q) Gal. c. 3. v, 22. 



chap, it i.J and Good Works. 115 

ceremonies of the Mosaic Dispensation, was re- 
quired in those Gentiles who embraced the Gos- 
pel. The great objection of the Jews, against 
Christianity, was, that it contradicted, as they 
imagined, the religion of Moses, which they 
justly considered as of divine origin, and as pre- 
served to them by the immediate interposition 
and favour of Heaven. Our Saviour himself said, 
that he was " not come to destroy the law ( r) 
he came indeed to confirm the moral part of the 
Mosaic law, and to fulfil the ritual part ; and by 
fulfilling the design of the rites and ceremonies of 
this typical, and therefore transitory, dispensation, 
and by rendering them no longer necessary, he in 
fact abolished them. The abolition however of 
these rights and ceremonies, the Jews did not 
comprehend j knowing- them to have been esta- 
blished by God, and believing them to be of 
eternal obligation. This prejudice was " a stum- 
bling block to the Jews," and caused many of 
them to reject the Gospel j and even some of 
those who embraced it (s) could not be prevailed 
upon to abandon ordinances to which they and 
their ancestors had been so long accustomed. 
These Jewish Christians, not contented with 
themselves retaining the observance of their 
antient ceremonies, endeavoured to persuade the 

Gentile 

(r)Matt. c. 5. v. if. (s) Acts, c. 21. V. 20. 
I 2 



n6 Of Justification, Faith, [crfXp. nir 
Gentile converts, that it was necessasy for them 
also to conform to the Mosaic ritual; they 
" taught the brethren, and Said, Except ye be cir- 
cumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot 
be saved (t)." This opinion was first publicly 
advanced at Antioch, not long after the ascension 
of our Saviour, and it produced so much " dis- 
sension and disputation?," and was considered as 
a point of so great importance, that it was * de- 
termined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain 
others of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto 
the Apostles and Elders about this question." 
Upon their arrival at Jerusalem, they declared 
the purpose of their journey, and ££L the Apostles 
and Elders came together to consider of this 
matter and after a full discussion, the doctrine 
of the Judaizing Christians was condemned, and 
the Gentile converts were pronounced to be free 
from the burden of the Mosaic law. Though 
this decision carried with it not only the authority 
of the " Apostles and Elders with the whole 
church/' but also the express sanction of the Holy 
Ghostly, and was formally communicated in 
writing to the churches, and confirmed by the spe- 
cial mission of "Judas and Silas, chief men 
among the brethren, who wete sent to tell th& 
same things by mouth," yet the practice of cir- 
cumcising 

/ 1) Acts, c, 15, v. x. (n) Acts, c. 15. v. 22, 23 & 28. 



eiiAPvin.] and Good Works. 117 
cumcising the Gentile converts, and of requiring 
their obedience to the other legal ordinances, con- 
tinued to prevail. The severity with which this 
practice was reproved by St. Paul, and the 
decided manner in which he maintained the doc- 
trine of Justification by Faith without the deeds 
of the law, unhappily led to another error in the 
highest degree injurious to the cause of religion 
and virtue. It was inferred, that because Faith 
would justify, and the deeds of the law were un- 
necessary, Christians were under no obligation to 
obey the moral precepts of the Mosaic law 
and that Faith alone would entitle them to all the 
privileges and blessings of the Gospel, both here 
and hereafter. This error, as congenial to the 
corrupt nature of man, as it is contradictory to 
the true spirit of Christianity, was eagerly adopted, 

and 

(x) Irenaeus, Lib. 1. cap. 20, says, that Simon Magus, 
mentioned in the Acts,c. 8, taught, secundum ipsius gra- 
tiam salvari homines, sed non secundum operas justas, 
which is a clear proof how early the doctrine of Justi- 
fication by Faith was corrupted, and that salvation by 
grace without Good Works was considered as an here- 
tical doctrine. Irenaeus lived in the second century, and 
his authority upon this point cannot be questioned. This 
corruption is the more remarkable, as St. Paul seems 
to have guarded against it, Rom. c. 6. v. 1 & 15. Gab 
c. 2. v. 17. St. Paul himself tells us that his doctrine 
was misrepresented, Rom. c. 3. v. 8. St, Peter says 
the same of St. Paul's doctrine, 2 Pet. c. 3. v. 15 & 16. 

13 



1 1,8 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 

and prpduped its obvious consequences, licen- 
tiousness and profligacy. St. James, in his 
Epistle (y), argues against it with great earnest- 
ness and force, and shews that Faith cannot jusr 
tify in the way contended for by the supporters of 
this mischievous doctrine, since " by works a 
man is justified, and not by Faith only f zj.' f 
Here St. James uses the word Faith, not in the 
sense in which it was used by St. Paul when 
speaking of Justification, but in the sense in which 
\t was used by those whose opinions he is com- 
bating, namely, bare belief, without producing 
inward purity or practical obedience : this is 
evident, by his attributing the Faith of which he 
Is speaking, to devils (a). By works, he means 

not 

(y) Veterurn multi (eosque inter Augustinus) cen- 
sent Epistolam Jacobi, et Johannis primam, et Judae, 
$t earn quae Petri secunda dicitur, scriptas adversus eos 
qui Pauijnas Epistolas prave interpretantes, Fidem dice- 
bant sine bonis operibus ad salutem sufficere. Bull. It 
is evident from the beginning of tire 4th chapter^ that the 
Christians, to whom St. James addressed his Epistle, 
were guilty of many vices and irregularities. They 
seem to have relied upon Faith as alone sufficient for 
salvation, and to have been regardless of their moral 
conduct. 

(z) Jas. c. 2. v. 24. 

(a ) P The devils, we find, confessed Christ, saying, 
Thou art Christ the Son of God, Luke, c. 4. v. 41, the 
same form of words, almost verbatim, in which the 
Apostles of our Saviour made confession of their Faitbj 
John, c. 6. v. 69" Alien* 



chap, in.] and Good Works. rig 

not the ceremonial works of the Mosaic law,' 
which were rejected by St. Paul, but works of 
benevolence and conformity to the will of God, as 
appears from the illustration of a brother or 
sister who is naked and destitute of daily food (b), 
and from the examples of Abraham and Rahabf c )> 
who gave proof of their Faith by their actions. 
And by the word justify he does not mean, as St. 
Paul did, Justification or remission of past sins 
at the time of admission into the Christian Cove- 
nant, but the continuance in a state of Justification, 
which would be followed by Salvation ; and here 
again he conforms himself to the language of 
those whose error he is refuting. In reasoning 
upon this point, he asks, " Can Faith save 
him (d)t" Implying, that the Faith spoken of is 
insufficient for Salvation. But if it be insufficient 
for Salvation in the world to come, it is insufficient 
to keep a person in a state of Justification in this 
world ; and accordingly the Apostle soon after 
says, " By works a man is justified, and not by 
Faith only (e)f that is, Faith only will not pre- 
serve a man in a justified state ; it must be ac- 
companied by works, for " Faith without works 
is dead." It is evident that the Faith here spoken 
of may exist without works; and in that case it 

is 

(b)V. 15. (c) V.2I&25, 

(d) C. 2. V. 1 4. (e) V. 24, 

14 



120 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, lit. 

is of no avail to Salvation. Let it be remarked, 
that whenever Sr. Paul, in speaking of Jus- 
tification, uses the word Works or Deeds, he 
invariably adds <c of the law ;" he frequently says, 
a man is not justified by the works of the law, 
but not once does he say, a man is not justified by 
works : so scrupulous is he upon this point, that 
he repeats the expression, " works of the law, ,? 
three times in one verse (f). The works, there- 
fore, which he rejects from any share in Jus- 
tification, are the ceremonial works of the law, 
for which the Judaizing Christians contended. 
On the other hand, St. James, in speaking upon 
the same subject, uses the word " works " 
simply, never adding " of the law :" he does not 
therefore mean the ceremonial works of the law, 
but moral works, which the corrupters of St. 
Paul's doctrine pronounced to be of no impor- 
tance. And even to these works he does not 
attribute the whole of Justification, for his ex- 
pression is, " By works a man is justified, and 
not by Faith only f that is, he admits the neces- 
sity of Faith, but asserts, that a man is not jus- 
tified by Faith only : Moral works must follow 
Faith, or a man will not continue justified, or in a 
justified state (gj, 

It 

(f) Gal. c. 2. v. 16. 

fg) Calvin, Lib, 3. cap. II. sect. 13, concludes, that 

i 



chap, nr.] and Good IVnrfc* 121 

It has been noticed, that both St. Paul and 
•£t. James speak of the Justification of Abraham : 
the former ascribes it to Faith, referring to a 
passage in Genesis fk}, c * Whatsaith the Scrip- 
ture ? Abraham believed God, knd it was counted 
unto him for rigb.oourr.es 5 The latter 

ascribes it to works, and as it were to shew that 
his doctrine was not contrary to that of St. Paul, 
he refers to the same passage in Genesis, " Was 
not Abraham our Father justified by works, 
when he had offered Isaac his son upon the 
altar? Seest thou how Faith wrought with his 
work?, and bv works was Faith made perfect ? 
And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith, 
Abraham believed God, and it was imputed 
unto him for righteousness fk): v God. foreseeing 

that 

if works have any share in Justification, there is boast- 
ing in works : this by no means follows ; for we do 
not say that works have any intrinsic merit, but that 
they are the appointed condition of Justification. The 
same objection would hold against the doctrine of Jus- 
tirication by Faith, for we are not allowed to boast 
of Faith, or to consider it as possessing any intrinsic 
merit. 

(h) C. 15. v. 6. (I) Rom. c.4. v. 3. 

(k) Jas. c. 2. v. 21. Abraham seems to have been 
justified three times, First, When by the command of 
God he left his own country, Heb. c. 11. v. 8; Se- 
condly, When he believed God's promise of numerous 
descendants, Gen. c. 15. v. 6 ; and Thirdly, When he 
Qbeyed God's command to offer his son, Jas. c. 2. v. 21, 



1&2 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, irk 
that the Faith of Abraham was of that true and 
lively nature, which would produce obedience, 
whenever an opportunity offered, imputed it to 
him for righteousness; and accordingly he did 
obey upon the very trying occasion of God's 
commanding him to " offer Isaac his son upon 
the altar :" his " Faith wrought with his works ;" 
that is, his Faith produced this act of obedience ; 
by it his " Faith was made perfect ;" and it was 
proved, that he possessed the genuine principle 
of human conduct, a conformity to the will of 
God; he was therefore ^ justified by works," 
for if he had not done this work, or at least ex- 
pressed a sincere readiness to do it, he would not 
have been justified, disobedience to the com- 
mands of God being incompatible with a state of 
Justification, Hence it follows that Faith, which 
produced works, was the Faith which justified 
Abraham, and consequently the Faith which St. 
Paul meant, when in arguing upon Justification 
by Faith, he appealed to the Justification of 
Abraham. St. Paul's assertion therefore is this ; 
Abraham was justified by Faith, which produced 
works : St. James's is, Abraham was justified 
by works, which proceeded from Faith. These 
assertions are in substance the same; and St 
James, in pointing out the true nature of Abra- 
ham s Faith, only intended to correct the error 

of 



<■ hap. in.] and Good Works. 123 
of those who had misinterpreted the doctrine of 
St. Paul This instance of Abraham's Jus- 
tification; the still earlier examples of Noah, 
Enoch, and Abel ; and the more recent ones of 
Gideon, David, and the prophets under the 
Mosaic oeconomy, mentioned by St. Paul upon 
another occasion (I), mark the uniformity of 
God's dealings with mankind in every period of 
the world, and establish these fundamental and 
universal principles of the divine dispensations, 
that iC without Faith it is impossible to please 
God (m)\ and that " Faith without Works is 
dead (n)." 

It is scarcely possible to imagine a more gross 
perversion of any doctrine, than that which we 
have been now considering. St. Paul meant, 
that ceremonial works were not necessary before 
Justification; whereas these men pretended St. 
Paul's authority for maintaining that moral works 
were not necessary after Justification. Cere- 
monial works are not necessary to obtain Jus- 
tification in this world; therefore, say they, 
moral works are not necessary to obtain Jus- 
tification or Salvation in the worjd to come. 
Faith alone is sufficient ; meaning, instead of a 
true and lively Faith productive of pbedience, a 

bare 

(I) Heb.c. 11. (m) Heb, e. 11. v. 6. 

(n) Jas. c. 2. v, 20. 



124 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 
bare assent to the truth of the Gospel, without 
any practical regard to its precepts. They vainly 
hoped that this spurious Faith would keep them 
in a state of Justification in this life, and finallv 
procure them Salvation in the next • • 

God is pleased to grant remission of all past 
sins, for the sake of his Blessed Son, on accouut 
of Faith only ; but he requires from those, whom 
lie thus graciously receives into his favour, an im- 
plicit obedience to his commands in future : 
if they disobey, the pardon is cancelled, the state 
of acceptance is forfeited, and liability to punish- 
rnent ensues. The servant, whose debt was for- 
given by his Lord, but who afterwards refused to 
forgive the debt of his fellow-servant, was severely 
rebuked, and delivered to the tormentors to suifer 
punishment for that very debt w^hich had been 
forgiven. To the much agitated question, there- 
fore, Whether works be necessary to Justification, 
we answer, that if by Justification be meant the 
first entrance into a state of Justification, works 
are not necessary ; if by Justification be meant 
the continuance in a state of Justification, works 
are necessary. By this distinction, we support 
the fundamental principle of the Gospel, Jus- 
tification by Faith in Christ ; and at the same 
time secure the main purpose of our Saviour's 
incarnation and death, " who gave himself for us, 

that 



chap, til.] and Good Works. 123 

that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
Good Works (o)f we shew the consistency of 
Justification by Faith alone with the necessity of 
personal righteousness and holiness ; we vindicate 
the mercy of God and the atonement of Christ, 
while we afford the strongest possible sanction t$ 
the cause of moral virtue. 

From the above explanation, it is evident that 
I do not agree with a very respectable writer oi| 
the doctrine of Justification, in thinking that, in 
the passages just quoted, St. Paul is speaking of 
the meritorious cause, and St. James of the con- 
ditional cause, of Justification : " St. Paul, says 
Dr. Pearson, in saying that a man is justified by 
Faith without the deeds of the law, is speaking 
of the meritorious cause of Justification ; and his. 
meaning is, that we are justified by the Christian 
religion, that is, by the merits of Christ alone, to 
the exclusion of all other meritorious causes 
whatever." Dr. Pearson here, by the assistance 
of the expression " the Christian religion" makes 
" Faith" and " the merits of Christ" synonymous ; 
whereas, as I apprehend, they never can mean 
the same thing. Faith, when spoken of with, 
reference to Justification, must exist in the per- 
son justified. If a man has Faith in Jesus 

Christ, 

(?) Tit, c. 2. v. 14^ 



i-2& Of Justification, Faith, [chap, im 

Christ, that Faith, through the grace of God and 
merits of Christ's death, becomes, properly speak- 
ing, not the cause, but the means, because it is 
the appointed condition, of Justification. God, 
according to what has been stated, of his sove- 
reign will and infinite goodness, ordained the 
merits of Christ to be the cause, and Faith in 
those merits to be the condition^ of Justification. 
Cause and condition are distinct ideas ; and that 
they may not be confounded, it would, I think, 
be better not to usd the expression " conditional 
cause." In order to shew that " the merits of 
Christ" and " Faith" are not synonymous terms, 
let us, in St. Paul's sentence, " A man is jus- 
tified by Faith without the deeds of the law," 
substitute " the merits of Christ" instead of 
5| Faith," and then the sentence will be, "A man 
is justified by the merits of Christ, without the 
deeds of the law this latter proposition is true, 
but it is different from the former. In the for- 
mer, Faith is pronounced to be the condition of 
Justification on our part; in the latter, the merits 
of Christ are declared to be the cause of Jus- 
tification, which is solely owing to the free grace 
of God. Dr. Pearson himself considers the 
Christian religion as a covenant ; and in one part 
of his pamphlet makes Faith a condition of Jus- 
tification on the part of man, although in- another 

he 



cHAP. ill*"] und Good Works. • 327 

he makes Faith, as used both by St. Paul and in 
our 1 1 th article, to signify the meritorious cause of 
Justification. We may farther observe, that the 
word Faith is a relative term, and must always 
refer to some person or thing, expressed or under- 
stood (p). St. Pauls words, so often quoted, are, 
" A man is justified by Faith f Faith in whom, 
or what? In Christ, unquestionably. The sen- 
tence, when this defect is supplied, when the 
words understood are really added, will be, " A 
man is justified by Faith in Christ f which is in 
fact the proposition St. Paul intended to express. 
It is manifest, that " the merits of Christ" can- 
not be here substituted for " Faith f and still less 
will it be contended, that " Faith" and merits 
mean the same thins. Faith in Christ, and 
Faith of Christ, which Dr. Pearson seems to con- 
sider as conveying different senses, are synony- 
mous expressions, and signify simply the Faith 
which men have in Christ. But that the ex- 
pression, 

(£) Whoever will examine the numerous passages 
of Scripture, in which the word Faith occurs, without 
any adjunct, will find that something is always under- 
stood. Faith must have an object. Faith is of itself an 
imperfect expression, though perhaps from its frequent 
use, and the obviousness of the person or thing signified, 
it is scarcely noticed as such. £ ' The name of Faith, 
says Hooker, being properly and strictly taken, it must 
needs have reference unto some uttered word as the ob- 
ject .of belief/' 



i 2 8 Of Justification, faith? [chap, nr. 

pression, " the merits of Christ," cannot be sub- 
stituted for the word " Faith, " will, if possi- 
ble, be still more evident, by making the trial 
in the nth article, to which also Dr. Pear- 
son refers his idea of meritorious cause. The 
words of the article are, " We are justified only 
for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ by Faith, without our own works or de- 
servings." For u Faith" substitute " the merits of 
Christ," and then the proposition will be, " We 
are justified only for the merit of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, by the merits of Christ, 
without our own works or deservings." To say- 
nothing of the tautology introduced by this sub~ 
, stitution, the Justification of man becomes per-- 
fectly gratuitous and unconditional, and we are 
required neither to act nor to believe— a doctrine> 
which Dr. Pearson will be very far from support j 
ing. The word u Faith" in this article, is the 
only one which conveys the idea of a condition 
to be performed, on the part of man, and is 
clearly distinguished from the merits- of Christ* to 
which Faith owes its efficacy. If Dr. Pearson 
would write in the three articles upon J ustifica^ 
tion, and in the whole of the celebrated passage 
in the Epistle to the Romans, the expression 
" the merits of Christ" instead of the word 
" Faith," wherever he meets with it, I am per-- 
1 2 suaded 



Chap, hi.] and Good Works. 1 29 

suaded he would admit, that " the merits of 
Christ" and " Faith" are not synonymous terms, 
either in the language of our Church, or of 
St. Paul when speaking upon the subject of 
Justification. 

The word believe, in all its various inflexions, 
occurs many hundred times, but, if I mistake not, 
the word belief occurs only once (q), in the New 
Testament. It may be right, therefore, to ap- 
prize those who are not acquainted with the 
learned languages, and to remind those who are, 
that the Greek word translated Faith, is derived 
from the word which is translated to believe ( f% 
and might with equal propriety have been trans- 
lated Belief. The word Faith is, I suspect, often 
supposed to convey some mysterious sense, which 
is not authorized by the word in the original lan- 
guage. Faith and Belief, strictly speaking, mean 
the same thing, and are used in the same sense by 
our old Divines : " No man, says the learned and 
judicious Hooker, can attain Belief by the bare 
contemplation of heaven and earth, for that they 
neither are sufficient to give us as much as the 
least spark of light concerning the very principal 
mysteries of our Faith." And Archbishop Tiliot- 
son says, " Faith, or which is all one, Belief (s)" 

That 

(q) 2 Thess. c. 2. v. 13. The word" unbelief occurs 
frequently, (r) ILric a Trtrsvu. (s) Rule of Faith, p. 3. 

K 



I 3° Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi.. 

That Belief or Faith may exist, unaccompanied 
by any of the Christian virtues and graces, appears 
from the case of Simon Magus, already referred 
- to, who is said to have H believed," and yet " his 
heart was not right in the sight of God he was 
" in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of 
iniquity ( t)T 

Indeed that there is no necessary connexion 
between Faith or Belief and Good Works, even 
according to St. Paul, who is the great advocate 
for the doctrine of Justification by Faith, is 
evident from a passage in his first Epistle to the 
Corinthians, a part of which has been already 
quoted, " Though I have all Faith so that X 
could remove mountains, and have not charity, 
I am nothing." Could St. Paul have described 
Faith in stronger terms, u all Faith so that I 
could remove mountains ? " Or could he have in- 
culcated the necessity of Good Works in more 
decisive language, " though I have all Faith, and 
have not chanty, I am nothing (u) ?" And at the 
end of the chapter, he sums up the argument, by 
-saying, " And now abideth Faith, hope, charity, 

these 

(t) Acts, c. 8. v, 13. 21. & 23, 

(u) 1 Cor. c. 13. v. 2.«~ u As it is here supposed that 
this Faith might in fact be separated from love, it cannot 
signify the same as in the Epistle to the Romans, where 
it is such an assent to a divine declaration .as produces a 
suitable temper knd conduct." Doddridge, 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 131 

these three ; but the greatest of these is charity :" 
We have therefore this Apostles authority, not 
oniy for maintaining the possibility of Faith exist- 
ing without charity, and its otter inefficacy in that 
case, but also for considering charity as superior 
to Faith when they " abide" together. Nor is 
it difficult to comprehend the reason of th ; s supe- 
riority ; for surely it is more easy to convince 
the understanding of the truth of the Gospel, 
than to correct the selfishness of our nature, and 
to impress our minds with the principles of divine 
love or piety towards God, and of universal bene- 
volence towards men, so as to practise both in the 
degree required by our holy religion, namely, 
to " love God with all our heart, and soul, 
and strength (x)? and " our neighbour as our- 
selves (y)T 

That we may have clear and distinct ideas of the 
doctrines inculcated by the two Apostles, and 
correctly understand what our Church teaches 
relative to Justification and Faith, it will be neces- 
sary to take a general and connected view of the 
whole subject. 

Justification, as the word is used in the Epistles, 
refers to adult persons who were converted to 
Christianity through the preaching of the Apostles, 
and is said by St. Paul to be effected by Faith ; 

that 

(x) Luke, c. 10, v. 27. (y) Matt. c. 19. v, 19, 
K 2 



13 2 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, in, 

that is, suppose a person to have been educated 
as a Jew or a Heathen, and suppose him, which 
was the case of every Jew and of every Heathen ? 
to have been guilty of. a variety of sins ; and sup- 
pose him, by attending to the evidences of the 
truth of the Gospel, to have been convinced that 
Jesus was the Messiah, the promised Saviour of 
the World : such a person could not but feel con- 
trition for the wickedness of his past life, and be 
anxious to avoid the punishment to which he was 
liable. Having understood that baptism was 
essential to entitle him to the blessings of this new 
and merciful dispensation, of the divine authority 
of which he was fully persuaded, he would eagerly 
apply to some one of those who were commis- 
sioned to baptize ; and baptism, administered 
according to the appointed form to a true believer, 
would convey Justification ; or in other words, the 
baptized person would receive remission of his 
past sins, would be reconciled to God, and be 
accounted just and righteous in his sight. Bap- 
tism would not only wash away the guilt of all his 
former sins, both original and actual, and procure 
to him acceptance with God, but it would also 
communicate a portion of divine grace, to coun- 
teract the depravity of his nature, and to strengthen 
his good resolutions. Faith therefore, including 
repentance for former offences* was, as far as the 
2 person 



chap. in. J and Good Works. 133 

person himself was concerned, the sole requisite 
for Justification. No previous work was en- 
joined ; but baptism was invariably the instru- 
ment, or external form, by which Justification 
was conveyed. St. Paul himself, soon after his 
miraculous conversion, and before he entered 
upon his ministry, was baptized, that w his sins 
might be washed mv&j fz)" The ./Ethiopian 
Eunuch, after hearing " Jesus preached " by 
Philip, and confessing that he believed " Jesus 
Christ to be the Son of God," was immediately 
baptized (a); and on the day of Pentecost no 
fewer than 3000 persons, who were converted by 
the first sermon of St. Peter, were instantly bap- 
tized, under the promise of receiving " remission 
of their sins (b J." It is plain that these men 
were justified by Faith, and by Faith only. Here 
arises the important question, whether a person 
thus converted, baptized, and justified, must ne- 
cessarily continue in a state of Justification r Cer- 
tainly not. Upon what then did his continuance 
depend ? Upon his belief of the doctrines, and 
obedience to the precepts of the Gospel, that is, 
upon the performance of the conditions of the 
covenant into which he had entered by the holy 
rite of baptism, and which he had engaged to 

observe. 

(z) Acts, c. 9. v. 18. and c. 22. v. 36. 

(a) Acts, c. 8. v. 37, 38. (b) Acts, c. 2. v. 38 & 41* 

K 3 



134 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, hi- 

observe fcA If he really performed these con- 
ditions, he continued in a state of Justification ; 

and 

N 

(c) Hinc factum est, ut jam inde a primis ecclesiae 
primordiis nemo sanguine Christi per baptismum as- 
persus fuerit, nisi obedientiam divmorum mandatorum 
prius pollicitus. Bull Ex Cens. p. 19. Jus ad regnum, quod 
in prima Justincatior.e homini conceditur, est, ut saepe 
diximus, jus pendens a conditione in futurum, si Deus 
vitam concesserit, praestanda ; proinde revocable. Haec 
est manifesta doctrina sacrosanctae ecciesiae catholic^ 
adeoque nostras. Cujus rei -iuculentam rationem adji- 
ciam : Nemo ad primae J ustificationis gratiam admittitur, 
qui non voto saltern ac sincero proposito ad obsequium 
Deo in posterum secundum praescriptum Evangelii prae- 
standum se obstrinxerit. jam quis *non videt obedientiam, 
quae voto necessario suscipienda erat ad gratiam Justifi- 
cationis obtinendam, non minus necessario ad acceptum 
beneficium retinendum, si Deus opportunitatem dederit, 
opere ipso prsestandum esse. Bull, p. 63. — "It seemeth 
necessary, says Dr. Whitby, from the nature of the 
thing and the state and condition of the persons to whom 
the Gospel was first preached, that they should be justi- 
fied or absolved from the guilt of their past sins, with- 
out new obedience, or without actual obedience to all 
the commandments of Christ ; though not without that 
Faith which did engage them to it, and was sufficient 
to produce it. For this was all that could be done by 
the convinced Jews or Gentiles, who at one sermon or 
discourse believed and were baptized for the remission 
of sins. It is manifest they then knew but little of the 
commandments of Christ, and s© could not be doers of 
them. Either then they were not justified, and then 

Faith 



chap, in.] and Good JForJcs. 135 
and if he persevered to the end of his life, his 
Salvation was secured, But if he did not perform 

these 

Faith is not imputed to them for righteousness, nor did 
baptism consign to them remission of sins ; or they were 
justified by that Faith which did not include actual obe~ 
dience to all the commandments of Christ, as the con-r 
dition of that Justification. And seeing perseverance to 
the end, and being faithful to the death, are by our 
Lord himself made the conditions of Salvation, and of 
receiving from his hands, the crown of life ; if these be 
also the conditions of Justification promised to Faith in 
Christ, no person is or can be justified by Faith till he 
dies. This Faith therefore in Jew and Gentile* thus 
converted, could only import three things. Firsts By 
way of preparation for it, and owning the true God who 
gave this testimony to his Son, and so a turning from 
dumb idols to serve the living God, and a sorrow for 
their sins committed against him in the time of their ig- 
norance ; and in the Jews, a sorrow for their past sins, 
and in particular for having crucified the Lord of Life \ 
and in this sense repentance goes before Faith. And 
Christ's Apostles preached to the Jews, repentance for 
the remission of sins through Faith in his name, Acts, 
c. 14. v. 15, and to the Gentiles, to turn from these 
vain things to the living God who made heaven and 
earth ; and to both, repentance towards God, and Faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ, Acts, c. 20. v. 21* Secondly, 
as a means to obtain this remission of sins, Faith in our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, an engagement for the 
future to cease from sin, and to give up themselves to the 
service of God, according to the rules and precepts 
delivered to them by his Son. Now this engagement 
was virtually contained in their repentance, and their 
K 4 Faith 



136 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. m. 

these conditions, he was no longer in a state of 
Justification, but again became liable to God's 
wrath ; and if he died in his sins, his apostasy 
from the truth would be an aggravation of his guilt 
and punishment ; " For if, after they have escaped 
the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge 
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are 
again entangled therein and overcome ; the latter 
end is worse with them than the beginning. For' 
it had been better for them not to have known 
the way of righteousness, than after they have 
known it, to turn from the holy commandment 
delivered unto them (d)." St. Paul tells the Ro- 
mans and Galatians, that they have been justified; 
and yet he gives them rules for their conduct, the 
observance of which he represents as essential to 
their Salvation. But had he considered their Jus- 
tification as necessarily continuing ; had he con- 
ceived Salvation in the next world as inevitably 

following 

Faith in Christ, and was solemnly made by them at their 
baptism, as will be proved hereafter. Now this being 
all that they could then do, it must be all they were 
obliged to do, in order to their Justification ; and yet it 
is certain that a promise of obedience is not obedience ; 
and that even the new Covenant requires, in order to 
Salvation, a sincere and constant performance of the 
obedience thus promised. So that the conditions of Sal- 
vation, and of Justification from our past offences, can 
never be the same." Pref. to the Ep. to the Gal. 
(d) 2 Pet. c. 2. v. 20 & 21. 



chap, in.] and Good /Forks. 137 

following Justification in this, all advice would 
have been superfluous : nor could he have felt or 
expressed any anxiety for the future welfare of the 
converts. Nay, he speaks of " some, who having 
put away a good conscience, concerning Faith had 
made shipwreck ( ej." These men must have lost 
that state of Justification which they once had, 
and have failed of Salvation. Surely then the 
distinction between Justification and Salvation is 
as clear as it is important. There were, however, 
even in the days of the Apostles, as has been 
observed, those who confounded these two very 
different things — there were Christians who taught 
that Faith alone was sufficient for Salvation as well 
as for Justification ; that men had only to believe 
the truth of the Gospel, and they would infallibly 
inherit eternal life (f). The Jewish Christians, 
while Jews, had been accustomed to think them- 
selves the peculiar favourites of Heaven, and had 
neglected " the weightier matters of the Law f 
and now that they had embraced the Gospel, 
they easily fell into the opinion, that a bare pro- 
fession of Christianity was sufficient to secure 

their 

(e) 1 Tim. c. 1. v. 19. 

(f) This is acknowledged by Dr. Doddridge :— 
u Several of the Jewish Christians discovered a dispo- 
sition to rest in an external and empty profession of 

* religion, probably from an abuse of the doctrine of Jus- 
tification by Faith." Pref. to St. Jas. Ep. 



238 Of Justification, Faith, [chaf. irr. 
their Salvation; and this erroneous opinion they 
supported by misinterpreting St. Paul's doctrine 
of Justification by Faith. The error, however, 
was not confined to the Jewish Christians, but 
quickly spread, as might naturally be expected^ 
among the Gentile converts also. St. James, in 
bis Epistle written several years after St Paul 
wrote to the Romans and Ga latians, opposes this 
dangerous tenet, and proves that Faith alone will 
not justify, that is, will not preserve a Christian in 
a state of Justification in this world, so as to se- 
cure his Salvation in the next. He does not mean 
to assert, that sincere Faith alone will not justify a 
man when first converted to the Gospel, by pro- 
curing him remission of the sins committed by 
him previous to his conversion ; but that when a 
man has been converted and justified, a bare be- 
lief of the Gospel will not keep him in a state of 
Justification. He says, that besides Faith, a Chris- 
tian must have works, not the ceremonial works 
of the Law, but the moral works of the Gospel; 
in order to be saved, a man must not only believe 
the divine authority of the New Testament, but 
practise the duties it commands. He describes a 
dead Charity fgj, and by it exemplifies a dead 
Faith : as that Charity is a mere pretence, which 
shews itself only in words of courtesy and com- 
passion* 

(g) J as * c « 2. v. 15 6c 16* 



chap, in.] and Good JVorks. 139 
passion, without affording any real assistance to 
a suffering fellow-creature, so that Faith is dead 
and useless, which consists in a naked assent to 
the trath of Christianity, without the performance 
of those works which are enjoined by its Author. 
Not only the understanding is to be convinced, 
but the will and affections, the spring of human 
actions, are to be influenced and regulated (h). 

Such 

(h) True Faith is itself an act of the will, and that 
it is so considered by our Church, will appear from a 
subsequent quotation from one of our Homilies. It is 
thus distinguished from the bare belief forced upon the 
mind by evidence. It is certain that the grounds and 
arguments for the truth of a proposition may be so 
strong that they cannot be resisted ; but though the un- 
derstanding is convinced, this conviction may have no 
influence upon the will and affections, and may effect 
no change in the principles or conduct of men. Who 
can doubt that many believe the truth of the Gospel, 
and yet live in conscious violation of its precepts ? " The 
will, says Bishop Jeremy Taylor, must open the win- 
dows, or the light of Faith will not shine into the cham- 
ber of the soul." St. Paul himself acknowledges the 
possibility of men's " sinning wilfully after they have 
received the knowledge of the truth," Heb. c. 10. 
v. 26 ; they may know their duty, and yet deliberately 
act in direct opposition to it. It is very important to 
consider true Faith as an act of the will, to take away 
the common Deisrical argument against the sinfulness of 
unbelief. And in fact true Faith includes a desire of 
obedience, and a hope of benefit, as in the cases of the 

VEthiopian 



140 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, in, 

Such was the doctrine inculcated by St James on 
the Christians of his day. 

Let us now apply this principle to the present 
limes, in which baptism is generally administered 
to infants. It is plain, that infants cannot have 
committed actual wickedness, and therefore they 
are justified from that sin only (i) y in which "ali 
men are conceived and born," and s< are grafted 
into the church of Christ," with all the benefits 
of " adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy 
Ghost (k)" But though the infants themselves 
are incapable of belief, and of making any engage- 
ment by themselves, yet sureties are required to 
profess the Faith preached by the Apostles, in the 
name of the children, and to promise for them 

obediently to keep God's holy will and com- 
mandments, and to walk in the same all the days 
of their life and the sureties are admonished 
that it is their " duty to see that the children are 
properly instructed and virtuously brought up 
to lead a godly and Christian life." We here 
find as strict an adherence to the practice of the 

Apostles, 

Ethiopian Eunuch and other persons who expressed a 
wish to be baptized. True Faith is an active, and bare 
belief a passive quality. 

(i) " It is certain by God's word, that children which 
are baptized, dying before they commit ajctual sin, are 
undoubtedly saved." Public Baptism of Infants, 

(k) Form of Baptism, 



chap, in.] and Good f Forks. 141 

Apostles, as the difference of circumstances wiU 
admit The condition of Faith at the time of bap- 
tism, and the promise of future obedience to the 
laws of the Gospelj are distinctly required ; and 
the children, when arrived at a proper age, am 
called upon by the highest order of Christian; 
ministers, in the presence of God and of his 
church, u to renew the solemn promise and vow 
made in their name at their baptism, ratifying 
and confirming the same in their own persons,: 
and acknowledging themselves bound to believe 
and to do all those tilings which their god-fathera 
and god-mothers then undertook for them {{);," 
thus again establishing the necessity of Works, 
as well as of Faith, in the life of a Christian. That 
many persons duly baptized in their infancy, an$ 
confirmed in their youth, fall into wilful and ha- 
bitual wickedness, .even while they retain a belief 
of the general truth of the Gospel, is a fact which 
will not be disputed ; and it will also be readily 
acknowledged, that such persons, " although bap- 
tized and bom again in Christ (m)? do uat re- 
main in a state of Justification. How then is that 
state to be recovered ? By repentance and Faith, 
They must feel u Godly sorrow which worketh re- 
pentance/' and a lively Faith that their sins will 
be pardoned through the merits of Christ; and 

Goi 

(I) Office of Confirmation. ( m) Art, i£. 



14*2 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 

God will then be pleased, for the sake of his 
Blessed Son, to accept their repentance and Faith, 
and they will become again justified from all their 
offences. But, as in the case of adult converts 
from Heathenism in the days of the Apostles, the 
state of Justification, thus recovered by penitent 
Christians, does not necessarily remain ; its con- 
tinuance depends upon their abstinence from those 
sins which are forbidden, and upon the practice 
of those virtues which are enjoined, in the Gospel. 
By the indulgence of any criminal passion, or by 
the neglect of any practicable duty, the state of 
Justification is forfeited, and the offender becomes 
again liable to the wrath of God. Repent- 
ance therefore and Faith, if sincere, will in all 
cases procure Justification ; but obedience must 
be added, to" preserve the state of Justification 
w hen obtained (n). 

In the Form of " Baptism of such as are of riper 
years, and able to answer for themselves," it is 
declared not only that " all men are conceived 
and born in sin," but also that " they that are in 
the flesh cannot please God, but live in sin, com- 
mitting 

(n) Neminem ex pacto Evangelico meritoria Jesti 
Christi sanguinis efFusione impetrato ac sancito, remis- 
sionem peccatorum sive Justificationem, absque Fide et 
pcenitentia, comparare posse ; absque Fidei vero et pceni- 
tentia fructibus acceptam Justificationem custodire et 
eonservare posse neminem. Bull. Apol. pro Harm. p. 10. 



cm a p.. in,] and Good JForks, 143 

mitting many-actual transgressions these adults 
are not required to perform any good works pre- 
vious to baptism, but simply to profess their Faith 
In the Blessed Trinity, and to promise future 
obedience to God's holy will and commandments; 
they are then baptized, and by this spiritual re- 
generation they receive remission of all their for- 
mer sins, both original and actual. Here is an 
exact conformity to the practice of the primitive 
Christians. But though an adult, when baptized, 
may have a firm belief in the truth of Christianity, 
and a real intention to obey its laws ; yet, from 
the corruption of his nature, and the enticements 
to sin, he may afterwards not lead a life agreeable 
to the precepts of the Gospel; he may "for a 
while believe, and in time of temptation fall 
away ( J" And in that case his Faith, though 
at first it might deserve to be called a true Faith, 
afterwards loses that character; and if he dies 
while he continues an impenitent sinner, he will 
not be saved 9 although he once had Justification 
in this world fp). Having failed to fulfil the con- 
ditions 

(0) Luke, c. 8. v. 13. 
*(P) <c Justification may be granted, and accepted, and 
take place for a time, and yet may cease afterwards both 
totally and finally." . . , <c The sense of our Church on 
this head is manifest from this single consideration, that 
die looks upon it as certain by God's wprd ? that all chil- 
dren 



144 Of Justification, Faith, ["chap. nr. 

ditions of the covenant into which he had volun- 
tarily entered, and which he expressly promised 
to fulfil, he can have no claim to its privileges and 
benefits. But if he repents, and returns to a true 
and lively Faith in the merits of Christ, his sins 
are pardoned, and his Justification is renewed. 

In our Catechism it is asked, " What is re- 
quired of persons to be baptized ?" And the An- 
swer is, " Repentance, whereby they forsake sin; 
and Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the 
promises of God made to them in that sacrament:'* 
hence it appears, that repentance and Faith are the 
only things required for baptism or Justification ; 
and it equally appears from this and the follow- 
ing Question and Answer, that those who are bap- 
tized or justified, are required to forsake sin, and 
are bound to perform the promises made by them- 
selves or their sureties at the time of baptism. 
But as the frailty and imperfection of our nature 
will not allow us always to stand upright, will 
not admit of a strict performance of these pro- 
mises 

cfren baptized are so far justified, inasmuch as if they 
die before actual sin, they are undoubtedly saved. Now 
it cannot be doubted but that many, who have been 
baptized in infancy, may, and do, fall afterwards, both 
totally and finally, therefore our Church must of con- 
sequence allow and suppose, that persons once jus* 
tified may totally and finally perish,"—- Waterland oa' 
Justification* 



chap, in.] and Good JVorks. 145 

mises of renouncing the devil and all his works, 
of serving God, and obediently keeping his com- 
mandments, since " no man liveth and sinneth 
not," we are also required in the Catechism, to 
examine ourselves whether we truly repent of 
those sins which we may have committed, and 
have a lively Faith in God s mercy through Christ, 
preparatory to the receiving the other sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper. And in the Communion 
Service we are taught to believe, that those, who 
with hearty repentance and true Faith, turn unto 
God, are, by the worthy participation of the body 
and blood of Christ, "pardoned and delivered from 
all their sins, strengthened in all goodness, and, 
if they hereafter serve and please God, will at 
length inherit everlasting life."—" As by baptism, 
jsays Bishop Bull, all sins committed before the 
grace of the Gospel is received, are washed 
away ; so in the Lord's Supper the remission of 
all sins, which are committed after baptism and 
regeneration, is sealed to those who are truly 
penitent.*' 

Our Church, in the' beginning of its daily Ser- 
vice, calls upon its members to confess their sins, 
and assures them, that God " pardoneth and ab- 
solveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly 
believe his holy Gospel. Wherefore we pray 
and beseech h\v% to grant us true repentance and 

L his 



146 Of Justification, Faith, [chaf. nr. 
his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him 
which we do at this present, and that the rest of 
our life hereafter may be pure and holy, so that 
at the last we may come to his eternal joy, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord." This prayer is a sum- 
mary of the doctrine of our Church ; it supposes 
all men to be guilty of sin, and it declares to 
whom forgiveness will be granted, namely, to 
those who truly repent, and . unfeignedly believe 
the Gospel ; that is, repentance and unfeigned 
Faidi are necessary for the pardon of our sins. It 
then teaches us to pray to God for true repentance 
and his Holy Spirit, to enable us to please God, 
and that the rest of our life may be pure and 
holy : hence we learn that our own strength is not 
sufficient, but that we stand in need of the assist- 
ance of God's Holy Spirit. The prayer lastly 
tells us why we are to do this, " so that at the 
last we may come to his eternal joy, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." Repentance, Faith, -and a pure 
and holy life, will therefore lead us to eternal hap- 
piness, through the merits of our Blessed Re- 
deemer. This eternal happiness is the aim of 
every Christian, and here every Christian is in* 
structed what he must do to obtain it. 

It is said in the 1 6th article, that " The grant 
of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall 
into sin after baptism, After we have received 

the 



chap, in.] , and Good Works, 147 

the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, 
and fall into sin ; and by the grace of God we 
may rise again, and amend our lives. And there- 
fore they are to be condemned, which . . . deny the 
place of forgiveness to such as truly repent." It 
is the doctrine of our Church, that baptism duly 
administered confers Justification ; and therefore, 
according to this article, a man may fall into sin 
after he has been justified, and in consequence 
of true repentance he may again receive for- 
giveness, and recover a state of Justification. 

But the nth article relates more immediately 
to Justification, and deserves our particular atten- 
tion. As several of the Epistles were written for 
the purpose of correcting the errors which pre- 
vailed among Christians in the days of the Apos- 
tles, go many of the articles of our Church are 
directed against* the corruptions of the church of 
Rome. This nth article was intended to dis- 
claim the Popish doctrine of Human Merit, which 
our Reformers, with reason, considered as incon- 
sistent with the whole scheme of redemption 
through Christ alone, and in particular as strik- 
ing at the very root of the Christian duty of hu- 
mility. Let us attend to the words of this article 
in the Latin, which is much clearer than the 
English : Tantum propter meritum Domini, ac Ser- 
vatoris nostri Jesu Christi, per Fidem, non prop-, 
1- 2 ter 



14$ Of Justification, Faith, [chap, hi. 

ter opera, et merita nostra, justi coram Deo repu- 
tamur: Observe, that Faith is not opposed to 
works, but the merit of Christ is opposed to the 
merit of our works — propter meritum Christi — 
non propter opera, et merita nostra — and it is per 
Fidem, not propter Fidem (q). We are here said 
to be justified on account of the merit of Christ, 
through our own Faith, and not on account of our 
own works or deservings. Our works never can 
have any merit towards procuring pardon of our 
sins, from their ow r n intrinsic worth ; they cannot 
justify, or tend to justify us. Nor has our Faitfy 
any merit of this kind ; we are not said to be jus- 
tified propter meritum Fidei or propter Fidem, but 
per Fidem. The blood of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ is the meritorious cause of our Justi- 
fication ; but it operates through our Faith, and 
through our Faith only. If Faith be wanting in 
those to whom the Gospel is made known, the 
merits of Christ are of no avail to them ; and if 

they 

(q) Wherever the Justification or Salvation of man 
by Faith is mentioned in Scripture, the expression is, 
-sjiraj sk <7Xir£6>g, $ia mrsu^ or $ta tv$ <snrE«j, but never 
mm, or ha tjjv mm. Vide Rom. c. I. v. 17. c. 3. v. 22. 
28. Sc 30* Gal c. 3. v. 8. Eph. c. 2. v. 8. It is well 
known that 3ia when it governs a genitive case signifies 
per, and when it governs an accusative case it signifies 
propter ; that is, in the former case it indicates the 
-means, in fche latter the cause. 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 149 
they have Faith, no other previous condition is 
required. " Wherefore, that we are justified by 
Faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and 
very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed 
in the Homily of Justification f This is the 
only reference in the 39 Articles ; and the com- 
pilers of them seem to have been aware that the 
doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, though 
founded in Scripture, and necessary to be main- 
tained in opposition to Papists, was yet liable to 
misinterpretation, and required fuller explanation 
than is consistent with the brief declarations used 
in articles of religion. They therefore send us 
to the Homily in which the subject of Justifica- 
tion by Faith is treated at large, and in which the 
true doctrine concerning the unworthiness of man, 
and the worthiness of Christ, is clearly and strongly 
expressed : "God sent his only Son our Saviour 
Christ into this world, to fulfil the law for us, 
and by shedding his most precious blood, to make 
a sacrifice and satisfaction, or (as it may be called) 
amends to his Father for our sins, to assuage his 
wrath and indignation conceived against us for 
the same. Insomuch, that infants, being baptized 
and dying in their infancy, are by this sacrifice 
washed from their sins, brought to God's favour, 
and made his children, and inheritors of his king- 
dom of heaven. And they which in act or deed 

h 3 do 



150 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. in. 

do sin after their baptism, when they turn again 
to God mifeignedly, they are likewise washed by 
this sacrifice from their sins, in such sort, that 
there remaineth not any spot of sin, that shall be 
imputed to their damnation. This is that Justifi- 
cation of righteousness which St. Paul speaketh 
of, when he saith, No man is justified by the 
works of the law, but freely by Faith in Jesus 
Christ . . . This saying, that we be justified by 
Faith only, freely and without works, is spoken 
for to take away clearly all merit of our works, 
as being unable to deserve our Justification at 
God's hands, and thereby most plainly to express 
the weakness of man and' the goodness of God; 
the great infirmity of ourselves, and the might 
and power of God; the imperfection of our own 
works, and the most abundant grace of our Sa- 
viour Christ ; and therefore wholly to ascribe the 
merit and deserving of our Justification unto 
Christ only, and his most precious blood-shed- 
ding . . . Although this doctrine be never so true 
(as it is most true indeed), that we be justified 
freely, without all merit of our own good works 
(as St. Paul doth express it), and freely, by this 
lively and perfect Faith in Christ only (as the an- 
tient authors used to speak it), yet this true doc- 
trine must be also truly understood, and most 
plainly declared, lest carnal men should take 

unjust 



chap, in.] and Good IVorM. 151 

unjust occasion thereby to live carnally, after the 
appetite and will 01 the world, the flesh, and the 
devil . . . The true understanding of this doctrine, 
-we be justified freely by Faith without works, or 
that we be justified by Faith in Christ only, is not, 
that this our own act to believe in Christ, or this 
our Faith in Christ, which is within us, doth jus- 
tify us, and deserve our Justification unto us (for 
that were to count ourselves to be justified by 
some act or virtue that is within ourselves), but 
the true understanding and meaning thereof is, 
that although we hear God's word, and believe 
it; although we have Faith, hope, charity, re- 
pentance, dread and fear of God within us, and 
do never so many works thereunto ; yet we must 
renounce the merit of all our said virtues of Faith, 
hope, and charity, and all other virtues and good 
deeds, which we either have done, shall do, or 
can do, as things that be far too weak, and insuf- 
ficient, and imperfect, to deserve remission of 
our sins, and our Justification ; and therefore we 
must trust only in God's mercy, and that sacrifice 
which our High Priest and Saviour Christ Jesus, 
the Son of God, once offered for us upon the 
cross, to obtain thereby God's grace and remis- 
sion, as well of our original sin in baptism, as of 
all actual sin committed by us after "our baptism, 
if we truly repent, and turn unfeignedly to faim 
x 4 again . . * 



152 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 

again ... as great and as godly a virtue as the 
lively Faith is, yet it putteth us from itself, and 
remitteth or appointeth us unto Christ, for to 
have only by him remission of our sins or Justifi- 
cation . . . we put our Faith in Christ, that we 
be justified by him only, that we be justified 
by God's free mercy and the merits of our 
Saviour Christ only, and by no virtue or Good 
Works of our own, that is in us, or that we can 
be able to have, or to do, for to deserve the 
same ; Christ himself only being the cause me- 
ritorious thereof . . . And because all this is 
brought to pass through the only merits and 
deservings of our Saviour Christ, and not 
through our merits, or through the merit of any 
virtue that we have within us, or of any 
work that cometh from us ; therefore in that 
respect of merit and deserving, we forsake as 
it were altogether again Faith, works, and 
all other virtues. For our own imperfection is 
so great, through the corruption of original 
sin, that all is imperfect that is within us, 
Faith, charity, hope, dread, thoughts, words, 
and works, and therefore not apt tc. merit and 
deserve any part of our Justification for us." 
Let it be observed, that in this quotation, Faith 
and Good Work* are mentioned together, as not 
being the meritorious cause of Justification. The 

expressions 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 153 

expressions of " Faith only (t)f and " Faith 
without works," were not intended to exclude 
the necessity of Works as the condition of Sal- 
vation, but were directed, as in the 11th article, 
against the Popish doctrine of human merit. Our 
Reformers excluded the merit of Faith, as well as 
the merit of Works ; but they were particularly 
anxious, upon every occasion, to exclude the 
pretended merit of works, as being the grand 
pillar which .supported the church of Rome (s). 

" Then 

(r) Nec aliud volunt nostri, cum dicunt, <l sola Fide 
justificamur," quam, quod jam dixi, gratis Fide propter 
Christum consequimur remissionem peccatorum, non 
propter nostram dignitatem. Nee excludit particular, 
sola contritionem aut caeteras virtutes, ne adsint, sed 
negat eas esse causas reconciliations, et transfeit causara 
in solum Christum. Mel. Loc. Theol. 

(s) " The Reformers made it the chief subject of 
their books and sermons, to persuade people to believe 
in Christ, and not in the Church, and made great use of 
those places in which it was said, that Christians are jus- 
tified by Faith only : though some explained this in such 
a manner, that it gave their' adversaries advantages to 
charge them, that they denied the necessity of Good 
Works ; but they all taught, that though they were not 
necessary to Justification, yet they were necessary to 
Salvation. They differed also (from the Papists) in their 
notion of Good Works : the church of Rome taught, 
that the honour done to God in his images, or to the 
saints in their shrines and relics, or to the priests, were 
the best sort of Good Works ; whereas the Reformers 

press ed 



*54 Of Justif cation, Faith, [chap, hi, 
* fi Then what is the fault of the church of Rome ? 
Not that she requireth works at their hands 

which 

pressed justice and mercy mcst, and discovered the su- 
perstition of the other. The opinion of the merit of 
Good Works was also so highly raised, that many 
draught they purchased heaven hy them. This the 
Reformers did also correct, and taught the people to de- 
pend merely upon the death and intercession of Christ. 
Others moved subtler questions, as, Whether obedience 
was an essential part of Faith, or only a consequent of 
it: This was a nicety scarce becoming Divines, that 
built only on the simplicity of the Scriptures, and con- 
demned the subtleties of the schools ; and it was said 
that men of ill lives abused this doctrine, and thought 
if they could but assure themselves that Christ died for 
them, they were safe enough. So now when they 
settled the notion of Faith, they divided it into two sorts : 
the one was a persuasion of the truth of the Gospel ; 
but the other carried with it a submission to the will of 
God ; and both hope, love, and obedience, belonged to 
it ; which was the Faith professed in baptism, and so 
much extolled by St. Paul. It was not to be so under- 
stood, as if it were a certainty of our being predestinated, 
which may be only a presumption; since all God's 
promises are made io us on conditions ; but it was an 
entire receiving the whole Gospel according to our 
baptismal vows. Cranmer took great pains to state 
this matter right ; and made a large collection of many 
places, all written with his own hand, both out of an-, 
tient and modern authors, concerning Faith, Justifica- 
tion, and the merit of Good Works; and concluded 
with this, That our Justification was to be ascribed 
only to the merits of Christ ; and that those who are/ 

justified 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 155 

which will be saved ; but that she attributeth unto 
works a power of satisfying God for sin, yea, a 
virtue to merit both orace here, and in heaven 
glory (t )" But even in their zeal to renounce 
and stigmatize this obnoxious doctrine, they 
observed some degree of caution ; for neither in 
our Articles, nor in our Liturgy, is it said, that 
Faith without Good Works will justify ; and the 
word Faith in the 11th article, "we are justified 
by Faith only," means a true and lively Faith, 
which necessarily produces Good Works. The 
expression " we be justified by Faith without 
Good Works," occurs, as we have seen, in the 
Homilies ; but to prevent any wrong inference 
from it, w r e are immediately told, that it is used 
" for to take away clearly all merit of our works, 
as being unable to deserve our Justification at 
God's hands ;" and the warmth with which a 
dead Faith is reprobated, and the earnestness 

with 

justified must have charity as well as Faith, but that 
neither of these was the meritorious cause of Justifica- 
tion." Burnet's Abridgement, A. D. 1540. There is 
much to the same purpose in his History of the Re- 
formation, in the same year. 

(t) Hooker on Justification.— Si quis dixerit Jus- 
tine ati hominis Opera Bona non vere mereri vitam 
seternam, anathema sit : " If any one shall say that 
the Good Works of a justified man do not truly de- 
serve eternal life, let him be accursed.' , — Council of 
Trent, 



156 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. 111. 

with which " charity, and all other virtues and 
good deeds," are inculcated as indispensable in a 
true Christian, plainly prove, that our Reformers 
meant to teach, that eternal life cannot be ob- 
tained without Good Works, when they are 
practicable ; that it will not be bestowed upon a 
bare belief in the divine mission of Christ, but 
upon a belief accompanied with an humble and 
exclusive reliance upon the merits of our Saviour 
and a sincere and uniform endeavour to obey his 
commands. And indeed in the very Homily 
from which the above quotation is taken, it is 
said, " None are to consider themselves justified, 
who are destitute of repentance, love, and obe- 
dience." If none be to consider themselves jus- 
tified, who are destitute of repentance, love, and 
obedience, it follows that repentance, love, and 
obedience, are necessary in a justified person, 
that is, in a person who has been justified, m 
order that he may continue in a state of Jus- 
tification. Previous works of obedience are cer- 
tainly not necessary at the time Justification is 
received $ for in that case no man could have 
heen represented by the Apostles as justified, 
till he had practised the duties enjoined by the 
Gospel. And, on the other hand, if actual 
obedience had not been necessary after Jus- 
tification, the Apostles would not have given to 
5 their 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 157 
their converts those numerous precepts for the 
regulation of their lives, 'which we find in the 
Epistles. In the Homily " Of Good Work* 
annexed unto Faith," St. Chrysostom is quoted 
as saying, " I can shew a man that by Faith 
without works lived, and came to heaven : but 
without Faith never man had life. The thief, 
that was hanged when Christ suffered, did be- 
lieve only, and the most merciful God justified 
him. And because no man shall say again, that 
he lacked time to do Good Works, for else he 
would have done them ; truth it is, and I will 
not contend therein : but this I will surely affirm, 
that Faith only saved him. If he had lived, and 
not regarded Faith, and the works thereof, he 
should have lost his Salvation again." The 
Homily ends thus, " And travelling continually 
(during this life) thus in keeping the command- 
ments of God (wherein stand eth the pure, prin- 
cipal, and right honour of God, and which, wrought 
in Faith, God hath ordained to be the right trade 
and pathway unto heaven) you shall not fail, as 
Christ hath promised, to come to that blessed and 
everlasting life, where you shall live in glory and 
joy with God for ever." 

The reference to the Homily upon Justifica- 
tion, was in the Articles of 1 552 ; but our Reform- 
ers in 1562, as a farther caution, added the 12th 

article, 



258 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, ii 1, 

article, no part of which was in the Articles of 
1552, and which may be considered as expla- 
natory of the species of Faith of which they 
intended to speak in the preceding article, the 
word Faith being there used without any epithet 
In the 1 2th article it is said, " Albeit that Good 
W orks cannot put away our sins, yet are they 
pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do 
spring oat necessarily of a true and lively Faith f 
the Popish doctrine of human merit is here again 
condemned, for the purpose of declaring, that 
though Good Works possess no power to atone 
for sin, yet they are pleasing and acceptable to 
God, and arise necessarily out of a true and 
lively Faith. This article, therefore, plainly 
shews, that the Faith by which in the preceding 
article we are said to be justified, is a Faith pro- 
ductive of a holy and virtuous life (uj, and not a 

Faith 

(u) In all the confessions of Faith at the time of the 
Reformation, which assert the Justification of men by 
Faith only or by Faith without Works, it is material to 
keep constantly in mind, that the great object of Pro- 
testants in these declarations was, to reject the Popish 
doctrine of the merit of Good Works, and that by Faith 
the Reformed always meant a true and lively Faith. It 
is impossible not to observe the great similarity between 
the opinions of the Jews in our Saviour's time, and of 
the Papists at the time of the Reformation, respecting 
the efficacy of external works. Both also ascribed too 
much to the power of the human will. 



chap, iri.] and Good IV irks. 1 59 

Faith " which bringeth forth no Good Works, 
but is idle, barren, and unfruitful, consisting only 
in believing in the word of God * 

If however the framers of our Articles had said, 
46 we are not justified by Faith only," instead of 
saying, as they have done, " we are justified by 
Faith only," they might, as we have seen, equally 
bave pleaded the authority of an Apostle for the 
assertion (y). Both propositions are true ; and 
the seeming contradiction between them, arises 
from the different senses in which the word Faith 
is used. Such in fact is the perverseness of 
human nature in its fallen state, and such is the 
indifference of men to their eternal welfare, that 
many, admitting the truth of Christianity, and 
conforming to its external ordinances, yet suffer 
themselves to be so engrossed by the business or 
pleasures of this life, that they do not think with 
sufficient seriousness of preparing for that which 
is to come. These men believing, but not obeying, 
the Gospel 5 have the Faith meant by St. James, 

which 

(x) Horn. 

(y) St. James says that a man is not justified bv Faith 
only, c. 2. v. 24; but St. Paul does not expressly say 
that a man is justified by Faith only ; his words are, 
" by Faith without the deeds of the law." In no part 
however of his Epistles does he mention any thing but 
Faith as necessary to Justification, because, when he 
speaks of the Justification of Christians, he always 
means the Justification conferred by baptism. 



160 Of ' Justification, Faith, [chap. hi. 

which does not justify ; but they have not the Faith 
meant by St. Paul, which does justify. But if a per- 
son of this description become convinced of the evil 
of his ways, be sincerely penitent, and feel a true 
and lively Faith in Christ, he is then justified from 
all the sins he has committed, " being accounted 
righteous before God for the- merit of our Lord 
and Saviour JesusChrist." And while he retains 
this true and lively Faith, bringing forth its natural 
fruit of Good Works, he continues in a state of 
Justification, and no longer. It is very possible 
that a sinful or a negligent Christian may be 
awakened to a sense of his duty by some cala- 
mitous or extraordinary event, and for a time 
really feel a true and lively Faith ; but the impres- 
sion may be effaced, and by yielding to tempta- 
tion to sin, or by being again engrossed by 
worldly cares, he may fall from his justified state, 
without losing all belief in the truth of the Gos- 
pel. This mans Faith rises from a dead to a 
lively Faith, and afterwards relapses into a dead 
Faith as;ain. 

In reality, true Christian Faith, and Good Works 
pleasant and acceptable to God, are in their own 
nature inseparable (z). True Faith produces Good 
Works as naturally as a tree produces its fruit : 

Good, 

(z ) Faith, or a general belief of the truth of Chris T 
fcanity, is not necessarily connected with Good Works. 
True Christian Faith and Good Works are inseparable, 



chap, in.] and Good Works, i6i 

Good W orks, wherever they exist, must proceed 
from Faith, their only genuine source. And hence 
it happens, that the one is often mentioned in 
Scripture without the other, although the other 
is implied or supposed. Thus St. John tells us 
that he wrote his Gospel, that men " might be- 
lieve that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and 
that believing they might have life through his 
name ( a)" No one can imagine that the beloved 
disciple of Christ meant a bare belief that Jesus 
was the Messiah-— the whole tenor of his Gospel 
proves that he must have understood a belief pro- 
ductive of obedience. On the other hand, St. Paul 
says, " They who by patient continuance in well- 
doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immorta- 
lity, shall inherit eternal life (bj" Here is not a 
word concerning Faith ; but it is supposed, for no- 
thing but Faith can cause a patient continuance in 
well-doing with the hope of everlasting happiness. 
There are, however, more passages in the Epis- 
tles which attribute Justification (c) and Salvation 
to Good Works, than to Faith ; and more exhorta- 
tions to the practice of virtue, than there are ar- 
guments and discussions for the establishment of 
a right belief. These Epistles were written to 
persons who had already professed their Faith in 

Christy 

(a) John, c. 20. v. 31. (b) Rom. c. 2. v. 7. 

(c) That is, continuance in a? state of Justification* 

M 



i62 Of Justification, Fakk, [chap, in, 

Christ, and in general to the collective boides of 
Christians at some particular place, men who 
were unaccustomed, and perhaps unable, to enter 
into nice and critical distinctions. The authors 
of these Epistles were therefore chiefly anxious, 
by the use of plain and intelligible language, to 
induce their converts to walk worthy of the voca- 
tion wherewith they were called, by an upright 
and holy life; to make professed Believers in 
the Gospel [real Christians. Again, St. John 
says, " God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life (d)f and St. Paul says, " Christ became 
the author of eternal Salvation unto all them that 
obey him (e) :" Salvation therefore is promised 
both to Faith and to obedience ; and consequently 
Faith and obedience must in reality signify the 
same thing, or include each other; .otherwise, 
the two passages would be irreconcilable. The 
obedience in the latter is the obedience which 
proceeds from Faith ; and how or why should 
men obey Christ, if they do not believe him to 
be the predicted Redeemer of the World ? The 
Faith in the former is the Faith which produces, 
or is accompanied by, obedience ; and indeed a 

true 



(d) John, c. 3. v. 16. (e) Heb, C. 5.V.9* 



chap.iii.] and Good Works. 163 
true and lively Faith in the merits and promises 
of Christ, is naturally productive of obedience to 
his commands. The same may be said of many 
other passages of Scripture. There seems no 
essential difference in these propositions : a man 
is saved by obedience which proceeds from Faith ; 
a man is saved by Faith which produces obedi- 
ence ; a man is saved by Faith and obedience (f). 
In all these three propositions, Christ is supposed 
to be the meritorious cause of Salvation, and Faith 
and obedience are asserted to be in the person 
saved. If the obedience of the first proposition 
does not proceed from Faith, it does not save ; if 
the Faith of the second proposition does not pro- 
duce obedience, it does not save ; and therefore 
both Faith and obedience, as declared in the third 
proposition, are necessary to Salvation. 

The Ministers of our Church are unquestion- 
ably authorized by our Articles to speak of Faith, 
as signifying a firm reliance upon the merits of 

Christ 

(f) " It is evident that Paul esteemed that alone true 
Faich which is productive of obedience, and so do^h 
virtually, although not formally, include obedience, as 
the effect is virtually contained in the cause. So that the 
difference between men of judgment as to saving Faith, 
is more in words than sense, they ail designing the same 
thing, that we cannot be saved by that Faith which doth 
not produce in us a sincere obedience to the laws of 
Christ." Whitby, Pretace to Gal. 

M 2 



164 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, in, 

Christ for Salvation, necessarily productive of Good 
Works, although I have proved that the word is 
not always used in that sense in the New Testa- 
ment, and that a different meaning of it is admit- 
ted in the Homilies. But as all their hearers are 
not persons of seriousness, reflection, and under- 
standing, some caution is requisite when this 
complex signification is affixed to the word. For 
if a minister should, in a country church, tell his 
parishioners that they will be saved if they have 
Faith in Jesus Christ, without explaining to them 
w r hat he means by Faith ; or even if with explain- 
ing to them the true sense of the word, he makes 
this doctrine the constant subject of his discourses, 
and does not frequently inculcate the personal 
and social duties separately, as essential parts of 
the character of a true Christian, and as an indis- 
pensable proof of his possessing a lively Faith, he 
will be very far from improving the morality of 
his audience. An illiterate person, and the bulk 
of country congregations consists of persons of 
that description, if he be told, that lying and- 
drunkenness are forbidden by the laws of God, 
and that one of Christ's Apostles has declared 
that no liar or drunkard shall inherit the kingdom 
of God (g), will gee in this plain prohibition and 
declaration a rule of life ; and he will understand 

what 

(g) 1 Cor, c, 6. v, io* 



chap, in.] and Good Works. 165 

what will be the consequence, if he does not 
obey it. In this he cannot deceive himself ; he 
must know whether he offends or not ; and if he 
has any sense of religion, he will be careful to 
avoid these sins. But if he be told that he has 
only to cherish Faith in his mind, and he will be 
eternally happy, he will be apt to persuade him- 
self that he has this Faith, while he is guilty of 
every vice within his means to which he feels any 
temptation. He will remember that the preacher 
only told him to have Faith, and that he did not 
enjoin him to abstain from lying, drunkenness, 
theft, and fornication. He believes that Christ . 
died for the sins of men, and is convinced, upon 
the authority of his minister, that this Faith is all 
which is required for pardon and Salvation. 
Whoever knows any thing of the common people, 
cannot but know that this mode of reasoning, 
easily suggested by the corrupt nature of man, is 
very likely to take place ; and whoever lias lived 
in the neighbourhood of certain preachers, will 
testify that it has taken place. The doctrine of 
Salvation through Faith, if rightly understood, is . 
strictly scriptural ; and I do not mean to say that 
any bad effects are intended by insisting solely 
or principally upon this one point. But I think 
that this style of preaching is imperfect and dan- 
gerous ; and in support of my opinion I will ven- 
al 3 tare 



i66 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, hi* 
ture to affirm, that the New Testament does not 
furnish one discourse of our Saviour, one sermon 
of any of his Apostles, or one Epistle, in which 
there is not an exhortation to the practice of 
moral virtue, or in which a reward is not pro- 
mised to holiness of life. Let the preachers, to 
whom I allude, read the conclusions of those very 
Epistles, upon particular passages of which they 
lay so much stress, and they will find the most 
earnest injunctions to the performance of the re- 
lative duties, and a variety of declarations and 
precepts all tending to encourage the cultivation 
of practical virtue. Let them constantly bear in 
mind the solemn direction given by St. Paul to 
Titus, whom he had appointed a preacher of the 
Gospel, and let them observe that it immediately 
follows the assertion, that we " are justified by 
grace (7* J;" " This is a faithful saying, and these 
things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they 
which have believed in God, might be careful to 
maintain Good Works : these things are good 
and profitable unto men (i)T Justification 
therefore by grace, so far from rendering Good 
Works unnecessary, is the ground upon which 
they are to be enforced by a Christian minister ; 
" they are, says Dr. Doddridge, to be the darling 
topics of your preaching, as you desire the edifi- 
cation 

(h) Tit, C.3.V. 7. ^Tit.c. 3 .v.8, 



chap, in J and Good Works, 167 
cation and Salvation of your hearers.'' The in- 
structions indeed, which St. Paul gave to Timo- 
thy and Titus for preaching the Gospel, related 
principally to practical subjects, that their hearers 
might " adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour 
in all things (kj." Surely then if the inspired 
Apostles were guided to instruct their disciples in 
this manner, it is incumbent upon their successors, 
the present ministers of the Gospel, to insist upon 
the necessity of Good Works, at least with as 
much earnestness and as frequently, as upon the 
necessity of Faith. To obviate any misunder- 
standing upon a point of so great moment, the 
observance of the moral duties, upon the prin- 
ciples and motives required in the Gospel, ought 
to be expressly enforced as indispensable to Sal- 
vation ; and whenever Faith is inculcated, the 
congregation should be reminded, that to shew 
Faith by works is the only mode of shewing 
Faith authorized by Scripture, and not palpably 
subject to deceit and delusion. 

No clergyman should confine his public instruc- 
tion to subjects of morality or of theology. The 
sermons of a parish priest ought to extend to all ' 
the doctrines and to all the duties of Christianity. 
The one are not to be dwelt upon to the exclu- 
sion of the other. A faithful minister of the 

Gospel 

(h) Tit. c. 2. v. 10, 
M 4 



1 68 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. in. 
Gospel will strive to shew himself approved unta 
God by " rightly dividing the word of truth (7)." 
so as to embrace the whole Christian scheme of 
human redemption. Sometimes he will give a 
summary of this wonderful dispensation, and ex- 
plain its divine origin, necessity, extent, and in- 
estimable value. At other times he will illustrate 
the various truths which it reveals, and enlarge 
upon the numerous precepts which it contains ; 
and whatever doctrine he inculcates, or whatever 
duty he enforces, he will be careful not to Lad 
his hearers into the error of imagining, that this 
single point is all that is required of a Christian ; 
or that obedience or belief in this one article will 
compensate for disobedience or unbelief in any 
other. " He that offendeth in one point, is guilty 
of all ( m) f surely then every portion and par- 
ticle of the Christian character is to be explained, 
lest a man by a single omission become a trans- 
gressor of the whole law. Much less are doc- 
trinal subjects totally to supersede the duties of 
morality, " for what doth it profit, though a man 
say he hath Faith, and have not works (n) ? 
Let not these two, Faith and Works, which Christ 
has joined together in his Gospel, be ever sepa- 
rated by his ministers. Let Faith be inculcated 
as the appointed condition of Justification ; and 

let 

(I) 2 Tim. c. 2. v. 15. (m) Jas. c. 2. v. IQ. 
(n) Jas. c. 2. v. 14. 



chap, in.] and Good TVorks. 169 

let Works at the same time be always enforced as 
the necessary fruits and sole criterion of true 
Faith. 

But while I am contending that a strict atten- 
tion to the duties of morality is indispensably re- 
quired by the religion of Christ, I must repeat, 
that Good Works are in no respect or degree the 
meritorious cause of our Salvation (0). When- 
ever we speak of any benefit derived from the 
Gospel dispensation, all notion of deserving It, 
all idea of merit on our part, is to be disclaimed. 
The whole and every part of this inestimable 
blessing, every consequence and effect proceeding 
from it, directly or indirectly, is the free-gift of 
God to unworthy and undeserving man. This 
distinction between meritorious cause and ap- 
pointed condition is a very material one — it will 
have great influence both upon our sentiments 

and 

(0) Bona Opera valent ad Justiflcationem ac Salutem 
ideo tantum, quod conditio sunt, cui in Evangelico 
fcedere, ex mera Dei gratia, Justificatio ac Salus promit- 
titur. Bull. Here Justification means the continuance 
in a state of Justification, as he had before expressed, 
Est Justificatio actus continuus, ac tum-demum perfectus 
et consummatus, cum quis conditionem foederis per quod 

justificatur, perfecte et ad finem usque adimplevit. 

Burnet says, that our Reformers, " taught that Good 
Works were indeed necessary to Salvation, but that the 
purchase of heaven was only by the death and interces- 
sion of Jesus Christ/' Hist, of Ref. V. 1. p. 287. 



i jo Of Justification, Faith, [ch ap. hi. 
and upon pur conduct. If we believed that there 
was an intrinsic merit in our good actions, a real 
worth which constituted a species of right (pj to 
Salvation, we should feel our obligation to our 
Redeemer proportionably diminished ; our minds 
would be too apt to be puffed up with pride, and 
we should be in danger of losing the characteristic 
quality of a true Christian, the ornament of a 
meek and lowly spirit : this is the error of those 
who adhere to the church of Rome. But if we 
went into the opposite extreme, and believed that 
^Sood Works were not the appointed condition of 
Salvation, we should of course become indifferent 
to the character of our actions. Convinced that 

virtue 

(p) In the Revelation it is said, "Blessed are they 
that do his commandments, that they may have right to 
the Tree of Life," c. 22. v. 14, This is a right not 
founded in the real merit of men, but derived from the 
gracious promise of God ; not a claim upon God's jus- 
tice, but a free-gift of his mercy. A promise, from its 
nature implies that it might have been withholden with- 
out injustice ; but he who promises, contracts a debt 
which he is bound to discharge upon the performance 
of the conditions on which the promise is made : 
Justum est ut reddat, quod debet ; debet autem quod pol- 
licitus est, Bernard. — A promise proves the kindness of 
him who promised, and not the worthiness of him to 
whom the promise is made ; and that kindness is the 
greater, the greater is the value of the thing promised, 
and the more easy the conditions upon which it is pro^ 
mised. 



chap, in.] and Good W yrks. 171 

virtue and vice will have no effect upon our fu- 
ture destiny, the most powerful check would be 
removed from our passions, and we should feel 
ourselves at full liberty, as far as another world 
is concerned, to indulge every propensity, every 
inclination, every wish. The fear of eternal pu- 
nishment would no longer either strengthen the 
hand of the civil magistrate, by deterring from 
those crimes which are destructive of the peace 
of society, or prevent the commission of the 
secret sins prompted by avarice, lust, and revenge., 
which are so injurious to the comfort and happi- 
ness of individuals. This is the error, as has been 
stated, into which they are apt to fall, who adopt 
the opinions of Calvin. Those who listen to the 
enthusiasts of the present day, too often suppose 
themselves the chosen vessels of God, and are 
persuaded that no conduct, however atrocious, 
however unchristian, can finally deprive them of 
eternal felicity, since they are taught to believe, 
that though it may be ordained that for a time 
they may fall from grace, yet it is irreversibly de- 
creed that they shall ultimately be saved. If 
these preachers do not in so many words tell their 
hearers, that their moral conduct will have no in- - 
fluence upon the sentence which will be pro- 
nounced upon them in the last day ; or if they 
do not entirely pass over in silence the, great duties 

of 



172 Of Justification, Faith, [chap, hi, 

of morality, yet if they dwell so much more ear- 
nestly and more frequently upon the necessity and 
merit of Faith, as to induce an opinion that Good 
Works are of little comparative importance, the 
natural consequence will be, a laxity of principle 
and a dissoluteness of manners. Even a doubt 
of the eificacy of virtue will lead to a disregard 
of its laws, 

Although the best actions of men must partake 
of the infirmity of their nature, and cannot give 
the slightest claim to eternal happiness, yet to 
represent every human deed as an actual sin, and 
deserving of everlasting punishment, is not only 
unauthorized by Scripture, but is also of very 
dangerous consequence. It tends to destroy all 
distinction between virtue and vice, and to make 
men careless of their conduct ; it is to confound 
those who live under the absolute dominion of 
sin, with those who occasionally yield to tempta- 
tion ; it is to make no discrimination between the 
habitually wicked, and those who through sur- 
prise or inadvertence deviate from the path of 
duty, between premeditated crimes and uninten- 
tional offences. Not only particular actions of 
men are commended both in the Old and New- 
Testament, but at the day of final retribution 
Christ is described as saying, " Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant," which implies that a 
3 mans 



chap, in.] and Good Works, 173 
man's general habits and conduct in life may be 
deserving of the approbation of his Judge. How 
can this address of our Saviour be reconciled with 
the tenets of those, who consider every action of 
man as sinful and punishable ? Where can be 
the justifying works of which St. James speaks? 
where can be " the charity, and service, and 
Faith, and patience" recorded in the Revela- 
tion (q)? Where are those who " have not de- 
filed their garments," who " are worthy," and 
whose " names are not blotted out of the book 
of life (r)r 

We are however to remember, that men are not 
permitted to afford only a partial obedience to 
the Gospel, by habitually indulging themselves in 
those sins to which they have a strong propen- 
sity, or by wilfully omitting the performance of 
those duties which may be inconvenient or irk- 
some to them. The law of Christ admits of no 
such compromise. But if men heartily strive to 
practise the whole of their duty ; if it be the great 
object of their lives to make the precepts of the 
Gospel the invariable rule of their conduct, but 
still, from the frailty of their nature, they should 
sometimes be guilty of sin, or not rise to the 
standard of purity and excellence required by our 
holy religion ; we have ground to believe, that 

aij 

(a) Rev. c. 2. v. 19, (r) Rev. c. 3. v. 4 5c 5. 



174 Of Justification, Faitk, [chap. in. 

an imperfect and defective obedience of this kind 
will be accepted through Faith in the merits of a 
crucified Redeemer. If such occasional and in- 
voluntary deviation from the path of duty will not 
be forgiven, who of the sons of men can be saved ? 
Men, as they now are, are not capable of perfect 
obedience, but they are capable of endeavouring 
to attain it. Such an endeavour is their indis- 
pensable duty ; and although it may not in all 
instances and upon every occasion be effectual, 
it is humbly hoped that it may be sufficient to 
recommend them to the favour of God, "foras- 
much as what their infirmity lacketh, Christ's jus- 
tice hath supplied ( s In no part of our Public 
Formularies is any thing like actual perfect obe- 
dience supposed ; and in the only prayer which 
our Saviour himself commanded his followers to 
use, we pray God to " forgive us our trespasses:" 
all Christians therefore are taught by their Saviour 
to consider and confess themselves as sinners, 
that is, at best as yielding an imperfect obedience. 

That I may not be accused of not having suf- 
ficient ground for what I have said, concerning 
those who invidiously arrogate to themselves the 
exclusive title of Evangelical Clergy, I will refer 
to some passages in a book (t) written profes- 
sedly in vindication of their principles and prac- 
tice. 

(s) Horn. (t) The True Churchmen ascertained. 



chap, nr.] and Good Works. 175 

tice. We there find one minister of the Esta- 
blished Church blamed for u hoping that his con- 
gregation will recommend themselves to the fa- 
vour of God by a regular attendance upon divine 
ordinances, and an uniform practice of religious 
precepts (u);" a second is blamed for saying, 
" Repentance, I doubt not, always avails some- 
thing ki the sight of God ( x) a third is blamed 
for " talking of works, obedience to the moral 
law as constituting men relatively worthy (y) f 
a fourth is blamed for " urging the necessity 
of recommending ourselves to the mercy of 
God, and rendering ourselves worthy the media- 
tion of Jesus Christ by holiness of living and by 
an abhorrence of vice (zj a fifth is blamed 
for asserting that " Good Works are the con- 
dition, but not the meritorious cause of Salva- 
tion (a) and a sixth is blamed for teaching, that 
" whatever our tenets may be, nothing can afford 
us comfort at the hour of death, but the con- 
sciousness of having done justice, loved mercy, 
and walked humbly with our God fbj, 79 expres- 
sions taken from a well-known passage in the Old 
Testament (c). From these censures we might 
surely be authorized to conclude, that Evangelical 

preachers 

(u) Mr. Clapham, p. 2 to. (x) Dr. Hey, p. 210. 
(y) Mr. Daubeny, p. 2 10. (z) Mr. Benson, p« 212. 
(a) Dr. Croft, p. 212. (b) Mr.Polwhele,p.2i4 A 
(c) Mice, 6. v, 8, 



17.6 Of Justification, Faith , [chap. hi. 

preachers do not inculcate a regular attendance 
upon divine ordinances, an uniform practice of 
religious precepts, repentance, Good Works, 
obedience to the moral law, holiness of living, 
abhorrence of vice, justice, mercy, and humility. 
Let it be recollected, that the Divines thus cen- 
sured are not discussing the abstract doctrine of 
Justification in this life as delivered in ouf Arti- 
cles, but are instructing their hearers and readers 
upon those points which are necessary to procure 
eternal happiness in the world to come. Such is 
the consequence of preachers dwelling continu- 
ally upon Justification by Faith alone, without 
possessing, or at least without expressing, a clear 
and definite idea of that important doctrine. 
They not only delude their unlearned congrega- 
tions, and encourage vice and immorality among 
their followers (d )> but they really delude them- 
selves 

(d) Locutiones incautas res sequuntur periculosae. 
Plerique enim ista legentes, ista audientes (scilicet, Fide 
sola sine ullis operibus nos justiiicari) cum in peccatis 
vivant, neque se corrigant, Salutem sibi pollicentur ; nfc 
minim quia, ut ipsi loquuntur, Christum credunt in id 
mortuum absolute, ut ipsos servet ; et justitiam Christi, 
quae perfectissima est, et cselesti digna prsemio, sibi per 
Fidem applicantes, meritaejus sua faciunt. Id si ita fieri 
potest, csetera jam sunt supervacua : quomodo vivant, 
nihil interest. Sine conditione, pro poena, quam ipsi 
debent, satisfecit Christus • sine conditione gloriam seter- 
nam est ipsis meritus. Grotius, 



chap, in.] and Good JVorks. 177 

selves, and fall into opinions and assertions to- 
tally inconsistent with the spirit of our holy reli- 
gion. I call it delusion, because I am persuaded 
that they do not mean to encourage licentiousness, 
or to advance any thing repugnant to the princi- 
ples of the Gospel. And if they do this in writ- 
ings, which they have deliberately and cautiously 
prepared for the public eye, what must we sup- 
pose they do -in their hasty compositions for the 
pulpit, or in their extempore effusions? I give 
them credit for zeal and good intention, but I 
think the manner in which they perform the duties 
of their ministry, both public and private, inju- 
dicious and mischievous in the extreme ; and the 
dangerous tendency of their tenets and practice 
cannot be exposed too frequently, or with too 
much earnestness, 

" And is not this, says the same author, the 
notorious divinity of Mr. Daubeny ? The benefits 
of Christ and Faith, according to his phraseo- 
logy, are, redemption from a state of certain con- 
demnation, and a restoration to a state of possible 
Salvation; together with a gracious provision of 
assistance to make that Salvation sure. These 
benefits he considers as enjoyed by all the pro- 
fessed members of the Church of England. But 
whether, he says, this state of possible Salvation 
Ifcrough Christ may become a state of actual Sal- 

N ration, 



178 Of Justification, Faith, [chap. 11 1, 

vaiion to the believing party, most depend upon 
the use made of the means vouchsafed for that 
purpose. Again, having observed that Christ 
has only placed man in a solvable condition, the 
clergy, he says, feel themselves called upon to en- 
force obedience to the moral law, as necessary to 
the accomplishment of the Christian scheme ; 
necessary to bring fallen man into a state of ac- 
ceptance with God, by qualifying him for the Sal- 
vation which has been purchased. Works, he 
says again, should be pressed upon Christians at 
all times, as the condition upon which they are 
taught to look for Salvation ; and on another oc- 
casion, They (that is Works) will be considerations 
on account of which God will be pleased to ac- 
cept a fallen, condemned, though at the same time 
repentant and obedient sinner, for the sake of 
what an all-gracious Saviour has done and suf- 
fered for him." 

My object in making this quotation, is not so 
much to defend Mr. Daubeny, who has fully and 
unanswerably vindicated himself against the at- 
tacks of this writer, as to shew the contemptuous 
manner in which the Evangelical clergy speak of 
their brethren of the Establishment, who " feel 
themselves called upon to enforce obedience to 
the moral law, as necessary to the accomplishment 
of the Christian scheme," and who teach their 
6 con- 



&KAP. mi.] mid Good Works. 379 

congelations that "Works are the condition of 
Salvation and that " they will be considerations 
<on account of which God will be pleased to ac- 
cept a fallen, condemned, though at the same 
time repentant and obedient sinner, for the sake 
of what an all-gracious Saviour has done and suf- 
fered for him." However, that these are the ge- 
nuine doctrines of Scripture, the following texts 
will sufficiently prove : " Moreover, brethren, says 
St. Paul to the Corinthians, I declare unto you 
the Gospel which I preached unto you, which 
.also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; by 
w hich also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory 
what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed 
in vain ( e )? St Paul therefore tells his Christian 
converts, that their Faith might or might not be 
the means of their Salvation ; and -consequently 
it only placed them " m a state of possible Sal- 
tation," in a " salvable condition and whether 
this state of possible Salvation should become 
a state of actual Salvation, depended upon 
rtheir " keeping in memory what the Apos- 
de had preached unto them," that is, in St. 
Paul's words, in the same chapter, upon their 
being " stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding 
in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as they 
knew that their labour is not in vain in the 

Lord;" 

(ej 1 Cor. cu 15. v, I & z» 
sr 2 



l8o Of Justification, Faith, [chap. lit* 
Lord (f):" " He that feareth God, and worketh 
righteousness, is accepted with him (g) m " " Let no 
man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness, is 
righteous (h);" "Work out your own Salvation 
with fear and trembling (i)f " Whoso looketh into 
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, 
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the 
work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (k) 
" Every man shall receive his own reward, ac- 
cording to his own labour (I)? " Every one of us 
shall give account of himself to God (m) f " Who 
will render to every man according to his 
deeds ( n) " All that are in the graves shall 
hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that 
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and 
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of 
damnation (o)f " The Son of Man shall come 
in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and 
then he shall reward every man according to his 
works (p J;" " For we must all appear before the 
judgement-seat of Christ, that every one may 
receive the things done in his body, according to 
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (q)f 

" Behold, 

(f) i Cor. c. 15. v. 58. (g) Acts, c. 10. v. 35. 
(h ) 1 John, c. 3. v. 7. (i) Phil. c. 2. v. 12. 
(k) Jas. c. t. v. 25. (I) 1 Cor. c. 3. v. 8. 
(m) Rom. c. 14. v. 12. (n) Rom. c. 2. v. 6. 
(q) John c. 5, v. 28 be 29. (p) Matt. c. 16. v.2| t 
2 Cor. c. 5. v. 10. 



€*Ui>. xii.] and Good JVorks. 1 8 i 

( c Behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with 
me, to give every man according as his work shall 
be(r):" And our Saviour, in his awful descrip- 
tion of the proceedings of the last judgement, not 
only assigns eternal life to those who have per- 
formed acts of mercy to their fellow- creatures, 
but expressly on account of those acts-; " Come, 
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
pared for you from the foundation of the world ; 
for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat 
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (sj. ,f 
Is it possible to read these passages of the New 
Testament, and to deny, that " Works are clearly 
made the grand hinge on which our Justification 
and Salvation turn*" and not to be astonished 
that any person professing belief in the divine 
authority of the Scriptures, himself a minister of 
the Gospel^ should with marked severity inveigh 
against those teachers, who make si Works the 
grand turning point in the matter of our Salva- 
tion ? " It cannot be necessary to dwell upon this 
subject ; and I shall only observe, that this author 
confounds Justification and Salvation throughout 
his work, which I have proved not to be synony- 
mous terms, either in the Apostolical Epistles 
when applied to Christians, or in the Public For- 
mularies 

(r) Rev, c, 22. v. 12, (s) Matt, c. 25. v, 34, &q, 



r82 Of Justification, Faith, [chap; itiv 

mularies of our Church ; and that he is guilty of 
a variety of mistatements and misrepresentations^ 
by not distinguishing between the meritorious 
cause of our Salvation^, and the conditions re- 
quired to be performed on our part " in order to 
obtain pardon and acceptance with God." These 
conditions may be indispensable, and yet utterly 
destitute of merit; giving no claim from their 
own nature to the inestimable blessing of eternaj 
happiness, but deriving all their efficacy and value- 
from the merciful appointment of God, through 
the merits of Christ. 

But Calvinistic ministers, with all their zeal ta 
support the doctrine of Salvation through Faith, 
alone, and all their anxiety to depreciate the im- 
portance of moral virtue, cannot avoid the incon- 
sistency of allowing that " Good Works will m 
any sense be rewarded that they are acceptable 
to God in Christ ; absolutely requisite in order to 
our meetness for God's service and heaven," and 
that they wiil <£ fix the degrees of our blessedness- 
in eternity (t)f although they will not acknow- 
ledge Good Works to be a condition of Salvation; 
If Good Works be not a condition of Salvation^ 
Salvation may be attained without them ; but it 
is acknowledged that a man cannot be meet for 
heaven without Good Works; therefore a man? 

? " may; 
(t) True Churchmen ascertained, p. 29 1> &c. 



chap, in.] and Good TVorhs. 183 

may attain Salvation without being meet for 
heaven. If the endeavour to maintain such a 
distinction as this does not deserve the name 
of direct absurdity and contradiction, surely it is 
at least " a strife of words," " a perverse disput- 
ing," " which minister questions, rather than 
godly edifying ( u JL" Such subtleties, not to ap- 
ply a harsher term, may amuse persons sitting 
and reasoning in their closets, but they are cer- 
tainly not calculated to instruct and improve the 
bulk of mankind, and ought never to find their 
way into the pulpits of a Protestant Church. It 
was probably some refinement of this sort which 
caused errors in the doctrine of Faith among the 
philosophizing Greeks in the days of the Apostles, 
and against which St. Paul with great earnest- 
ness guarded Timothy, whom he had appointed, 
superintendant of the Church at Ephesus, " O 
Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy 
trust; avoiding profane and vain babblings, and 
oppositions of science falsely so called : which 
some professing, have erred concerning the 

(u) 1 Tim. c. 6. v. 48c 5. and c. 1. v. 4. 
(x) 1 Tim. c. 6. v. 20 & % 1. 



3f4 



i S4 Of Universal Redemption, [chap,- it. 



CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 

OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION, ELECTION, AND 
REPROBATION, 

T^HE doctrine of Universal Redemption,, 
namely, that the benefits of Christ's Passion 
extend to the whole human race ; or, that every 
man is enabled to attain Salvation through the 
merits of Christ, was directly opposed by Calvin, 
who maintained, that God from all eternity decreed 
that certain individuals of the human race should 
be saved, and that the rest of mankind should pe- 
rish everlastingly, without the possibility of attain- 
ing Salvation. These decrees of Election and 
Reprobation suppose all men to be in the same 
condition in consequence of Adams Fall, equally 
deserving of punishment. from God, and equally 
unable of themselves to avoid it; and that God, 
by his own arbitrary Will, selects a number of per- 
sons, without respect to foreseen Faith or Good 
Works* and infallibly ordains to bestow upon- 
them eternal happiness through the merits of 
Christ, while the greater part of mankind are- 
infallibly doomed to suffer eternal misery. 

I shall 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. t€jj 

I shall endeavour to prove that the doctrine of 
Universal Redemption is asserted in Scripture, 
and maintained in the Public Formularies of our 
Church ; and that there is no authority in either 
for the Calvinistic doctrines of Election and 
Reprobation. 

In referring to Scripture for proofs of the 
doctrine of Universal Redemption, we may first 
observe, that the original promise ( y) of a Re- 
deemer, made in general terms by God himself to 
Adam, the representative of mankind, imme- 
diately after the Fall, may be considered as an 
intimation, that He would be a common blessing 
to the whole human race, and that lie would 
counteract and defeat the consequences of Adam s 
transgression upon all his posterity ; which is 
allowed to have been the sole cause of the neces- 
sity of a Redeemer. It is natural to conclude, 
that the remedy, proposed by a Being of infinite 
power and infinite mercy, would be commensurate^ 
to the evil ; and therefore, as the evil operated 
instantly in producing the corruption of Adam's 
nature, which was soon transmitted to his off- 
spring, we may infer that all, who were to par- 
take of that corrupt nature, were to partake also 
of the appointed remedy. And when it pleased 
qui* Almighty Father to declare moz'e explicitly 

tm 

(y) Gen. c. 3. v. 15. 



1 86 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. ir. 

his gracious design, and to point out the family 
from which the Saviour of Mankind was to be 
descended, he made use of words of the most 
comprehensive signification : to Abraham, to 
Isaac, and to Jacob, he successively said, " In 
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed (z)." The Salvation thus announced is 
not, like the privileges of the Mosaic law, con- 
fined to the descendants of these distinguished 
patriarchs, or to any particular description of 
persons : " All nations of the earth," past, pre- 
sent, and to come, without any exception or 
limitation, shall be blessed in the promised Mes- 
siah, that is, for his sake, and through his 
mediation. The benefits of Christ's incarnation 
are spoken of in the same language throughout 
the prophecies of the Old Testament: "The 
Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of 
all the nations ; and all the ends of the earth 
shall see the Salvation of our God (a ) : " " All 
we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have 
turned every one to his own w ay : and the Lord 
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (b) In 
this passage, the universal depravity of mankind 
is asserted, and the expiation of Christ is de- 
clared to be as universal as the depravity of man. 

In 

* (z) Gen. c. i§. v. 18. c. 22. v. 18. c. 28. v. 14. 
(a) Is.c. 52. v. 10. (b) Is, c, 53. v. 6. 



chap, iv J Election, and Reprobation. 1S7 

In the New Testament, every expression which 
can denote Universality is applied to the merits 
and sacrifice of Christ : at the birth of our 
Saviour, the Angel of the Lord declared to the 
shepherds, " Behold, I bring you good tidings- 
of great joy, which shall be to all people (c)T 
The aged and devout Simeon, when snpernatu- 
rally guided to the Temple, in the spirit of pro- 
phecy, pronounced the infant Jesus to be the 
" Salvation of God, prepared before the face of 
al people^;" and John the Baptist, under 
the same divine influence, called him, before lie 
entered upon his ministry, " the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world fej. n 
Christ denominated himself " the Son of Man, 7 * 
as bearing in his mediatorial capacity an equal 
relation to the whole human race ; and in allusion 
to the nature and efficacy of his death, he said, 
H And I, if I he lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all men unto me(Y)." St. John, in his 
Gospel, says, that Christ was " the true Light, 
which Hghteth every man that eometh into the 
world ( g) ; " and that he is " the Saviour of the 
world (h)'" and, in writing to his Christian 
brethren, he says, '? Christ is the propitiation 

for 

(c) Luke, c. 2, v. lo. (d) Luke, c. 2. v. 30& 31... 
(e) John, c, 1. v. 29. (f) John, c. 12. v. 32. 
(g) John, c, 1. v, 9. (h) John, c. 4* v. 4a* 



1 88 Of Universal Redemption, [ctfAi*. 1 ^ 
for our sins : and not for ours only," that is, not 
for the sins of us Christians only, " but also 
for the sins of the whole world (i St. Peter 
says, " that God is not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repentance^ 
St. Paul tells us, that " God will have all men to 
be saved ( I) ; " that he is " the Saviour of all 
men (m) ; " and that " the grace of God, that 
bringeth Salvation, hath appeared to all men (n) \ 
and he further says, that " Christ, by the grace 
of God tasted death for every man (o) that 
he "gave himself a ransom for all (p) ; " and 
" died for all (q)J 9 

To these plain and positive declarations we 
may add the train of reasoning pursued by St. 
Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. The Apostle 
first takes a comprehensive view of the conduct 

and 

(i) 1 John, c. 2. v. 2. (k) 2 Pet. c. 3. V. 9. 

(I) I Tim. c. 2. v. 4. (m) I Tim. c. 4. v. 10. 

(n) Tit. c. 2. v. II. This passage is stronger in the 
original than in our translation, ETrepavrj v X a p l S Ts 
cwmpi©- nzounv ccvSpuTroig ; it should have been translated, 
" the grace of God, which bringeth (or orTereth) Salva- 
tion to all men, hath appeared." Mr. Wakefield gives 
this construction in his Silva Critica, and supports it by 
two passages from the Orestes of Euripides; he might 
have added a third from the Orestes, ao: crwr^a, and a 
fourth from the Phcenissa?, tnh yn a-compiov. 

(0) Heb. c. 2. v. 9. (p) 1 Tim. c. 2. v. 6, 
(q) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 15, 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 189 

and condition of men under the different dispen- 
sations of Providence ; he shews, as was observed 
in the last Chapter, that all mankind, both Jews 
and Gentiles, were under sin, and liable to the 
wrath of God ; and therefore, that as all had 
sinned, all required to be redeemed from the 
penalty of sin. And to prove that peace with 
God was now obtained for the whole human 
species, through the precious blood of Christ, 
he represents Adam as " the figure of him that 
was to come/'' that is, a type of Christ: he then 
describes the analogy between the first and second 
Adam, by declaring that the former brought 
death upon all men, and the latter restored all to 
life ; that universal sin and condemnation were 
the consequence of Adam's disobedience, and 
universal righteousness and pardon the effect of 
Christ's obedience, " As by the offence of one, 
judgement came upon all men to condemnation, 
even so by the righteousness of one, the free 
gift came upon all men even to justification of 
life ; for as by one man's disobedience many were 
made sinners, so by the obedience of one, shall 
many be made righteous (r)" The sin of Adam 
and the merits of Christ are here pronounced to 
be co extensive ; the words applied to both are 
precisely the same ; " Judgement came upon all 

men/' 

fr) Rom. c. 5. v. 18 & 19. 



I go Of Universal Redemption, [ckap.it. 
men," M the free gift came upon all men" — " Many 
"were made sinners," " Many were made righte- 
ous." — Whatever the words all men" and 
" many" signify, when applied to Adam, they 
must signify the same when applied to Christ. 
It is admitted, that in the former case the :vhole 
human race is meant ; and consequently in the 
latter case the whole human race is also meant 
The force of the argument is destroyed, and the 
most acknowledged rules of language are vio- 
lated, by so interpreting this passage, as to con- 
tend, that all men are liable to punishment on 
account of .the sin of Adam, and that a few only 
are enabled to avoid that punishment through the 
death of Christ. Nay, we are even told, that 
** where sin abounded, grace did much more 
abound ( s) ;" but how can this -be, if sin extends 
to all, and grace is confined to a part only of 
mankind? 

Salvation was offered to the whole Jewish na- 
tion, without any discrimination, though it is 
certain that many of them rejected the offer. 

Men and brethren, children of the stock of 
Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth 
God, to you is the word of this Salvation sent ; 
. , . Be it known unto you, therefore, men and 
Jbrethrem that through this man is preached unto 

you 

fs) Rom. c, 5. v. 20* 



chap, iv,] Election, and Reprobation. igi 
you the forgiveness of sins ; and by him all that 
"believe are justified from ail things from which 
ye could not be justified by the law of Moses ( t 
When some of the Jews asked Jesus, " What 
shall we do, that we might work the works of 
God?" he answered, " This is the work of God, 
that ye believe on him whom he hath sent ( u J" 
If God had decreed that the Jews should not 
believe, it could not have been said, that it was 
his work, that they should believe on him whom 
he hath sent. Upon another occasion Christ 
declared to them, " These things I say, that ye 
might be saved (x) :" Now could Christ endea- 
vour to promote the Salvation of men, in oppo* 
sition to the decree of his Father, whose will he 
came clown from heaven to fulfil? " Why do 
ye not understand my speech ? . . . And if I say 
the truth, why do ye not believe me (y ) ?" which 
questions imply, that the Jews had a power of 
understanding and believing, and cannot be re- 
consiled with the doctrine of a divine decree, 
rendering their conversion impossible. And the 
exhortations of the Apostles, after the ascension 
of our Saviour, speak the same language : " Re- 
pent ye, and be converted, that your sins may be 
blotted out . . . Unto you first, God having raised 

up 

(t) Acts, c. 13. v. 26, 38 & 39. 
(u) John, c. 6. v. 28 & 29. (x) John, c. 5. v. 34, 
(?) John, c. 8, v, 43 "& 46. 



192 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, tv, 

op his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in 
turning away every one of you from his iniqui- 
ties (%) ;" it was possible therefore for every one 
of the Jews to abandon his wickedness, and be 
converted, and saved. " It was necessary, said 
Paul and Barnabas to the Jews, that the word 
of God should first have been spoken to you; 
but seeing ye put it from you, and judge your* 
selves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn 
to the Gentiles ( a) :" The rejection therefore of 
the Gospel by the Jews, was their own voluntary 
act, and not the consequence of any decree of 
God. If the Jews had it not in their power to 
believe, how could our Saviour have upbraided 
the chief priests and elders ( b ), and the inhabit- 
ants of Chorazim, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (c), 
for their unbelief ? Or how could it have been 
said, that the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the 
counsel of God against themselves (d)? How 
could the Jews be convinced of sin because they 
believed not (e ) 9 or how could that sin be " with- 
out cloke (f)r or excuse ? if belief were impos- 
sible ? 

The same offer of Salvation was made to all 
Gentiles, as well as to all Jews ; " Then hath 

God 

(z) Acts, c. 3. v. 19 &26. (a) Acts, c. 13. v. 46. 
(b) Matt. c. 21. v. 23. (c) Matt. c. 11. v. 21. 
(d) Jyuke, c. 7. v. 30. (?) John, c. 16. v». 9. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 193 

God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto 

life Some of them were men of Cyprus and 

Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch, 
spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord 
Jesus (g)." " I am not ashamed of the Gospel 
of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto Sal- 
vation, to every one that believeth, to the Jew 
first, and also to the Greek (h). n " I kept back 
nothing that was profitable unto you, but have 
shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and 
from house to house ; testifying both to the Jews, 
and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, 
and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ (i). n 
Belief or Faith being the condition upon which 
Salvation was offered both to Jews and Gentiles, 
and it being inconceivable that a just and merciful 
God would propose any but a practicable con- 
dition, it follows, that all to whom the Gospel 
has been made known since its first promulgation, 
have had it in their power to obtain eternal life 
through the precious blood of Christ. Those 
who deny this conclusion, must maintain that God 
offered Salvation to men upon a condition which 
it was impossible for them to perform ; and that 
he inflicts punishment for the violation of a com- 
mand, which they were absolutely unable to obey. 

Would 

(g) Acts, c. it. v. 18. & 20. (h) Rom. c. 1. v. 16, 
(i) Acts, c. 20. v. 20 & 21. 
O 



194 Of Universal Redempt ion, [chap. iv. 

Would not this be to attribute to God a species 
of mockery and injustice, which would be severely 
reprobated in the conduct of one man towards 

another ? 

In the following quotations, all men, without 
distinguishing Jew and Gentile, are commanded 
and encouraged to believe the Gospel, by the 
promise of eternal Salvation, and condemnation 
is denounced against all who shall refuse to be- 
lieve : John the Baptist " came to bear witness 
of the Light, that /all men through him might 
believe (k ) :" " The Son of man must be lifted 
up, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have eternal life ( /):" " To Christ 
give all the prophets witness, that through his 
name whosoever believeth in him, shall receive 
remission of sins ( m ) :" " If ye believe not that 
I am He, ye shall die in your sins ( n) :" " He 
that believeth on him, is not condemned ; but he 
that believeth not, is condemned already, because 
he hath not believed in the name of the only- 
begotten Son of God ( o J." Christ's last decla- 
ration to his Apostles was, " He that believeth, 
and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that 
believeth not, shall be damned (p )T The doc- 
trine 

(k) John, c. I. y. 7. (I) John, c. 3. v. 14 & 15. 
(m) Acts, c. 10. v. 43. (n) John, c, 8. v. 24. 
(&) John, c. 3, v. 18. (p) Mark, c. 16. v. 16. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 195 

trine which Paul and Silas preached was, " Be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt 
be saved (q) f and the Evangelists wrote their 
Gospels for the instruction of future ages, " that 
they might believe that Jesus is the Christ the 
Son of God, and that believing they might have 
life through his name (rj" Thus men, without 
any discrimination or exception, were required to 
believe ; and the reason assigned was, that they 
might be saved ; but if all men were required to 
believe, that they might be saved, we again infer 
that Salvation was attainable by all. 

u God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting 
Xiiefs)? In this and many other passages of 
the New Testament, relating to the motive and v 
design of Christ's Advent, Gods love for the 
world is declared in general terms ; and surely 
these texts are irreconcilable with the idea, of 
God's selecting out of mankind a certain number 
whom he ordained to save, and of his leaving 
the rest of mankind to perish everlastingly. Flow 
can God be said to love those to whom he denies 
the means of Salvation; whom he destines, by 
an irrevocable decree, to eternal misery? It 

might 

(q) Act§ 4 c. 16. r. 31. (r) John, cao, v. 31* 
(s) John, c. 3, v. 16. 
O 2 



ig6 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 

might be said, that God loved the individuals 
whom he delivered from the sentence of punish- 
ment ; but it seems impossible to say, that he 
loved those, to whom he would afford no assist- 
ance, and who he knew, from want of that 
assistance, must inevitably suffer all the horrors 
of guilt and the pain of eternal punishment. 
" Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his 
brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of 
compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of 
God in him ? " Can we then suppose that 
God sees his rational creatures not only in need, 
but obnoxious to death and misery, and yet 
refuses his aid to rescue them from impending 
ruin ? The Gospel, instead of being a proof of 
Gods " good-will towards men," would rather 
shew his determination, that they should add to 
their guilt, and increase their condemnation. In- 
stead of raising us from a death in sin to a life of 
righteousness, it would be the inevitable cause of 
more heinous wickedness, and of sorer punish- 
ment, to the greater part of mankind. It was 
considered as an act of the greatest injustice to 
require the Israelites to make bricks, when no 
straw was given to them ; and how then can we 
imagine that God calls upon men to believe and 
obey the Gospel, under the penalty of eternal 

misery, 

(t) i John, c. 3. v.i 7. 



€5HAP. iv.] Election, and Reprobation. J g y 

misery, when he denies them the possibility of 
belief and obedience ? Does an earthly master 
punish his servant for not doing that which it was 
impossible for him to do ? And shall we ascribe 
to God a conduct which would be esteemed the 
height of cruelty in man ! " Go ye, says Christ 
to his Apostles, into all the world, and preach 
the Gospel to every creature (u) :" here the pre- 
cept is universal, without any limitation, any 
exception : but is it to be supposed, that the 
blessings of that Gospel which was to be preached 
" to every creature in all the world," were ne- 
cessarily confined to a few? that the Apostles 
should be commanded to promise to all, what 
God had irreversibly decreed should be enjoyed 
only by a small number ? 

Christ is represented as having died not only 
for those who are saved, but also for those who 
perish ; and therefore we may conclude that he 
died for all : " Through thy knowledge shall the 
weak brother perish, for whom Christ died ($) 
" If thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now 
walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him 
with thy meat, for whom Christ died (y ). " He 
who hath trodden under foot the Son of God x 
< and 

(u) Mark, c. 16. v. 15. (x) 1 Cor, c. 8. v. 
(y) Rom. c. 14. v. 15. 

03 



l 9% Of Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace," 
that is, he who has rejected the offered terms of 
Salvation, is said to he " sanctified by the blood 
of the Covenant (% )" that is, to have been 
capable of sharing in the benefits of Christ's 
death : and those " false teachers, who bring in 
damnable heresies," are said to " deny the Lord 
that bought them/' and to "bring upon themselves 
swift destruction ( a) :" the Lord therefore bought, 
that is, died for those who bring upon themselves 
swift destruction, and consequently are not saved. 
It is no where said, that Christ died only for a 
part of mankind, or for one part more than 
for another. " To the Jew first, and also to the 
Gentile (b )" is the only preference we meet with 
in Scripture. Nor is there the slightest intima- 
tion of the impossibility of any one's being saved 
through the merits of Christ, except the impe- 
nitently wicked ; and their wickedness is always 
ascribed to themselves. When St. Paul threatens 
those who sin wilfully after they have received 
the truth, with " a fearful looking for of judgment, 
and fiery indignation," and tells them, that " there 
remaineth no more sacrifice for sins ( cj" it is 
surely implied, that a sufficient sacrifice had already 

been 

(%) Heb. c, 10. v. 29, (a) 2 Pet. c. 2. v. 1. 

(b) Rom.c. 2. v. 10. (c) Heb, c. 10. v. 26 & 27* 



chap. iv. j Election, and Reprobation. 199 

been offered for the sins of these men, and that 
the " neglect of this great Salvation/' was owing 
to their own obstinacy and blindness. 

" Whosoever will, says St. John in the Reve- 
lation, let him take the water of life freely (d) \\ 
this passage shews, that all, who are willing, may 
drink of the water of life ; that it is in the power 
of every one to attain eternal happiness : " Such 
a declaration, says Dr. Doddridge, of divine 
grace, seems to have been wisely inserted just in 
the close of the Sacred Canon, to encourage the 
hope of every humble soul, that is truly desirous 
of the blessings of the Gospel^ and to guard 
against those suspicions of divine goodness which 
some have so unhappily abetted." 

The benefits of Christ's death are not confined 
to those to whom the Gospel has been actually 
revealed — that would exclude from Salvation all 
who lived before, and the far greater part of those 
who have lived since, the birth of our Saviour. 
If the satisfaction of Christ does not reach to 
the times prior to his Incarnation, how came it 
that Abel and Enoch were justified (e)} That 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are respresented as 
sitting in the kingdom of heaven (f) ? That 
Noah, Daniel, and Job, are declared to be righte- 
ous 

(d) Rev. c. 22. v. 17. (e) Heb. c. 11. v. 4 & 5. 
(f) Matt. c. 8. v.i 1. 

4 



200 Of Universal Redemption, [cha*. iv. 

ous men ( gj ? All these, with a long catalogue 
of prophets and holy men, under the Mosaic 
Dispensation, partook of the guilt of Adam, and 
were therefore liable to the wrath of God ; nay, 
they committed actual sin, for " there is no 
man that sinneth not (h)T Yet who can doubt 
that these illustrious persons, the peculiar objects 
of God's favour, are all written in the book of 
life. And we are told that " the blood of bulls 
and of goats will not take away sinsfi^ that 
before the Gospel, " there was no law which 
could give life fkj and that " there is no name 
under heaven by which men "can be saved but that 
of Christ flj :' May we not then conclude, in 
the words of one of our pious martyrs, that " the 
promise of God appertaineth unto every sort of 
men in the world, and comprehendeth them all ; 
howbeit, within certain limits and bounds, the 
which if men neglect or pass over, they exclude 
themselves from the promise in Christ ; as Cain 
was no more excluded, till he excluded himself, 
than Abel ; Saul, than David ; Judas, than Peter ; 
Esau, than Jacob (m)" 

A Redemption of that extent, for which we 
are now contending, is perfectly consonant to 

the 

(g) Ezek. c. 14. v. 14, (h) I Kings, c, 8. v. 46. 
(i) Heb. c. 10. v. 4. (k) Gal. c. 3. v. 21. 
(I) Acts, c.4. v. J2 t (m) Bishop Hooper, 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 201 

the character of that gracious Being, whose mercy 
is over all his works, who pardoneth iniquity, and 
retaineth not his anger for ever fnj, and who 
delighteth in exercising loving-kindness (0) ; he 
is equally the Maker and Lord of all men, and 
careth for all alike ; all stood equally in need of 
his interposition and assistance; and therefore, 
there being with him " no respect of persons," 
in every nation, and in every age, " he that feareth 
God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with 
him (p )" through the atonement of the blessed 
Jesus. Was it to be expected that God, who is 
bountiful and indulgent to all men, in bestowing 
temporal comforts and conveniencies without par- 
tiality or reserve ; who preserveth their life from 
destruction ; who protecteth them continually 
from mischief and danger ; who openeth his hand, 
and satisfieth the desire of every living thing — 
was it to be expected that this kind and benevo- 
lent Being would neglect the spiritual welfare of 
any part of his rational creatures, and leave their 
souls destitute of all care and protection; that 
he would give them life, and health, and all the 
good things of this world, and withhold from 
them the possibility of happiness in the world to 
come ? 

As 

(n) Mic. c. 7. v. 18. (0) Jer. c. 9. v. 24. 
(f) Ads, c. 10. v. 35. 



202 Of * Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 

As a farther confirmation of the doctrine of 
Universal Redemption, let us next examine into 
the opposite doctrines of Election and Reproba- 
tion, as maintained by Calvin : and first we will 
consider the texts of Scripture in which these 
words themselves occur. 

In the Old Testament, the whole nation of 
the Jews, including both good and bad, is said 
to be elected or chosen by God, and the word is 
never applied exclusively to those of the Jews 
who were obedient to his commands ; " Because 
he loved thy Fathers, therefore he chose their seed 
after them, and brought thee out in his sight, with 
his mighty power out of Egypt (q) " The Lord 
thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people 
unto himself above all people that are upon the 
face of the earth ( r) :" "I give waters in the 
wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink 
to my people, my chosen (s) "I will bring 
forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an 
inheritor of my mountains : and mine elect shall 
inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there (t )\ 9 
u For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine 
elect (u)\ 9 " Thus saith the Lord God ; In the 
day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand 

unto 

(q) Beut. c. 4. v. 37. (r) Dent. c. 7. v. 6. 
(s) Is. c.43. v. 20. (t) Is. c. 65. v. 9. 
(u) Is. c. 45. v. 4. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 203 

unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made 
myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, 
when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, 
I am the Lord your God (x) :" " O ye seed 
of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob his 
chosen ones (y)T It is plain that the collective 
body of the Jews, all the descendants of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, both the rebellious and the 
faithful, are here denominated the chosen or elect 
of God; and in the numerous passages of the 
Old Testament, in which they are thus spoken of, 
there is not the slightest allusion to their bein<* 
predestinated to happiness in the world to come ; 
nor indeed will any one contend that all the Jews 
were designed for eternal Salvation. They were 
elected in this world only, as an introductory and 
preparatory step to the execution of God's merci- 
ful scheme of human Redemption through the In- 
carnation and sufferings of Christ. 

We shall in like manner find that the same 
words, elect and chosen, are applied to collective 
bodies of men who were converted to the Gospel, 
without any restriction to those who were obe- 
dient to its precepts, and will hereafter be saved ; 
and that an infallible certainty of Salvation, in 
consequence of a divine decree, is not attributed 

to 

(x) Ezek, c, 20. v. 5. (y) 1 Chron: c. 16. v. 13. 



204 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, it, 
to any number of Christians, or to any single 
Christian, throughout the New Testament. 

St. Peter tells the " strangers scattered through- 
out Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bi- 
thynia," that they are " elect, according to the 
foreknowledge of Gq&(z)°" and 5 £ a chosen 
generation, a peculiar people ; that they might 
shew forth the praises of him, who hath called them 
out of darkness into his marvellous light ( a )" 
It is evident that the Apostle here refers to the 
calling of these men to the knowledge of his Gos- 
pel, which, like every other circumstance relative 
to this gracious dispensation, was foreknown by 
God; and that by denominating the Christians 
of these five extensive countries, indiscriminately, 
f elect'' and " a chosen generation," he did 
not mean to assert that they would all be saved ; 
"but that they were admitted to " the marvellous 
light" of the Gospel, while other nations were still 
wandering in the u darkness" of heathenism. 
And to put this beyond all doubt, the same per- 
sons, whom in his first Epistle he addresses as 
" elect according to the foreknowledge of God," 
in his second Epistle he addresses as " them that 
have obtained like precious Faith with us, through 
the righteousness of God, and our Saviour Jesus 

Christ : w 

(z ) i Pet. c. i. v. i 5c 2. (a) i Pet. c* 2, v, q. 



chap, iv.] Election^ and Reprobation. 205 

Christ (b):' to be elect, and to be a believer in 
Christ, are therefore the same thing. The whole 
tenor of these Epistles plainly proves, that St 
Peter did not consider that the persons to whom 
he writes must necessarily be saved ; for among 
other precepts and exhortations he saysj u Give 
diligence to make your calling and election sure ( cjz 
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall { dj i* 
therefore the Salvation of these elect, of this 
chosen generation, was so far from being certain, 
that it depended upon their own " diligence 
their " not falling" was so far from being infallibly 
decreed, that it depended upon their doing those 
things which the Apostle commanded : and he 
even predicts, that " false teachers, who would 
bring in damnable heresies, denying the Lord that 
bought them, should make merchandize of some 
of them (e)f that is, should seduce them from 
the true Faith in Christ, and consequently defeat 
their Salvation : some therefore of these elect per- 
sons were not saved. 

At the cioseof his first Epistle, St. Peter says, 
■ ( The church that is at Babylon, elected together 
with you, saluteth you f here the Apostle calk 

the 

(b) 1 Pet. c. 1. v. 1. 

if c) Election in the Calvinistic sense includes an in- 
fallible decree ; but the Apostle could not call upon the 
Christian converts to make an infallible decree sure. 

(d) a Pet. c. i, v. 10; (e)z Pet. c. 2. v. 1—3. 



2o6 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 
the whole church of Babylon also elect, which 
again proves that the word is applied generally to 
collective bodies of Christians, to all who in one 
or more cities or countries professed Christianity, 
without any discrimination ; and that it is not con- 
fined to individuals who must necessarily be saved, 
or who were predestinated by God to certain 
Salvation, or even to those who will actually be 
saved. 

St. Paul begins his Epistle to the Ephesians in 
this manner, " Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, 
by the will of God, to the Saints which are at 
Ephesus, and to the Faithful in Christ Jesus : 
grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, 
and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in * 
heavenly places in Christ : according as he hath 
chosen us in him, before the foundation of the 
w r orld, that w r e should be holy, and without blame 
before him in love : having predestinated us unto 
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to him- 
self, according to the good pleasure of his will : .... 
Having made known unto us the mystery of his 
will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath 
purposed in himself: .... in Christ also we have ob- 
tained an inheritance, being predestinated accord- 
ing to the purpose of him, who worketh all things 
2 after 



chap, iv ] Election, and Reprobation. 207 

. after the counsel of his own will (f)? The 
election and predestination here spoken of, relate 
to God's eternal purpose to make known to the 
Ephesians the mystery of his will in the blessings 
of the Gospel, and he calls them " Saints" and 
* faithful," because of the firmness and constancy 
with which they hitherto held fast the profession 
of their Faith : but still, instead of representing 
their Salvation as certain, he earnestly exhorts 
them to u walk worthy of the vocation wherewith 
they were called ( g) ;" guards them against those 
deceits which bring down € ' the wrath of God 
upon the children of disobedience (h ) and com- 
mands them " to put on the whole armour of 
God, that they may be able to stand against the 
wiles of the devil (i) :" it was therefore possible 

_forthose, who were " Saints," " faithful," « chosen," 
and " predestinated," to walk unworthily, to incur 
the wrath of God by disobedience, and to yield to 
sinful temptations, and consequently to fail of 
Salvation. 

cc Jesus 

(f) € < This does indeed express God's taking such 
methods to answer his purposes, as he knows will in fact 
be successful. But it does not prove any thing like an 
overbearing impulse on men's minds, to determine them 
in such a manner as to destroy the natural* freedom of 
their volitions, and so to prevent their being justly 
accountable to God for such actions." Doddridge in loc. 

(g) C. 4. v. 1. (b) C. 5. v. 6. (i) C. 6. v. 1 1. 



20 8 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 

" Jesus knew from the beginning who should 
betray him .... Jesus answered them, Have not I 
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ? He 
spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon : for he 
it was that should betray him, being one of the 
twelve (k)? Jesus called, chose, elected these 
twelve to be his peculiar disciples, his Apostles, 
his constant companions, his friends. He gave 
them power to work miracles, to preach the Gos- 
pel, to become witnesses of, and sharers in, his 
glory, to sit upon twelve thrones in his kingdom, 
judging the twelve tribes of Israel — Yet one of 
these men he declared to be a devil ; one of them 
he knew would betray him ; one of them he knew 
to be " the son of perdition (l)" about to suffer 
such punishment, that it " had been good for him 
if he had not been born Since then Judas 

was one of the chosen, one of those " whom God 
gave to Christf n )" and since "Jesus knew from the 
beginning that he should betray him," and conse- 
quently be rejected and " lost (o )" it is clear that 
the chosen may deprive themselves of the advan- 
tage of " this excellent benefit" of being placed in 
a state most favourable for the attainment of Sal- 
vation, and that foreknowledge does not imply 

control 

(k) John, c. 6. v. 64. 70 & 71. 

(I) John, c. 17. v. 12. (m) Matt.c. 26, v. 24, 

(n) John, c. 17. v. 12. (0) Ibid. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 209 
control or influence. Tile observation of our 
Saviour, (C When I was daily with ,yo& in the tem- 
ple, ye stretched forth no hands agmfcst me (p)" 
appears to indicate that there were other means 
by which the Son of Man might have been de- 
livered unto death ; so that the treason of Judas 
cannot be considered as a necessary part of the 
scheme of man's redemption. It pleased God 
to make use of Judas, as of other wicked men on 
other occasions, as instruments to fulfil' his pur- 
pose, but they first made themselves fit agents. 
If the Calvinists say, that Judas was never in 
reality one of the elect, we may ask what proof 
they can bring of any difference between him and 
the other eleven Apostles, except works? And 
to grant that this is the only difference, is to grant 
that works are necessary evidence of the security 
of any man's Election. 

St. Paul says to the Thessalonians, " We give 
thanks to God always for you all, making men- 
tion of you in our prayers, remembering, without 
ceasing, your work of Faith, and labour of love, 
and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
in the sight of God and our Father; knowing, 
brethren beloved, your Election of God (q) :" this 
is addressed to all the Thessalopians, to the whole 
body of Christians at Thessalonica ; and the Elee* 

tion 

(p) Luke, c,22i v. 53. (q) 1 Thqss, 9- 1. v. 2, &c, 
P 



210 Of Universal Redemption,, [chap, i v. 

tion here spoken of means their being called to 
the knowledge of the Gospel; and their " work 
of Faith," and " labour of love," and " patience 
of hope," here commended, refer to the sincerity 
and firmness with which they adhered to the 
Christian profession. Again, he says, " God 
hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation, 
through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of 
the truth ; where unto he called you by our Gos- 
pel ( rj :" the sanctification of the Spirit and belief 
of the truth, which were common to every true 
convert, are here denominated the " being chosen 
to Salvation ;" that is, the Thessalonians, by em- 
bracing Christianity, were now enabled to obtain 
Salvation ; but that this Salvation was not certain 
and infallible, is evident from the numerous ex- 
hortations and precepts contained in these Epistles, 
and particularly from the following earnest en- 
treaty; " Furthermore then we beseech you, 
brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that 
as ye have received of us how ye ought to 
walk and to please God, so ye would abound 
more and more (s j :" a continual progress in 
obedience to the instructions which St. Paul had 
given to the Thessalonians, was therefore neces- 
sary on their part to secure their Salvation. St. 
Paul was also under apprehension " lest by some, 

means 

(r) 2 Thess. c. 2. v. 13 Sc 14, (s) 1 Thess. c. 4. v. I< 



chap. iv. J Election, and Reprobation. 211 

means the tempter should have tempted them, 
and his labour be in vain ;" which could not have 
been the case, if their Election was a proof of 
their Salvation being irreversibly decreed. It 
appears from the second Epistle to the Thessa* 
lonians, that some of them did " walk disorderly," 
and that St. Paul doubted whether they would 
obey his precepts ft J, that is, whether they would 
be saved; and consequently the being from the 
beginning chosen by God to Salvation, the sane- 
tification of the Spirit, and the Belief of the Gos- 
pel, did not prevent disorderly behaviour, or 
necessarily cause obedience to the commands of 
an inspired Apostle. 

St. Paul, in speaking of the Jews, says, that as 
amidst the idolatry of former times there were 
7000 men who did not bow the knee to the image 
of Baal, " even so at this present time also there is 
a remnant according to the Election of Grace ;' 
by which expression he means the body of Jewish 
Christians, as appears from a following verse, 
" Israel hath not obtained that which he sesketh 
for, but the Election hath obtained it, and the 
rest were blinded f uj ;" " the Election" therefore 
denotes those of the Jews who embraced the 
'Gospel, and " the rest" are those who rejected it : 

u As 

(t) 2 Thess. c. 3. v. 1 1. Sc 14. 
(u) Rom. c. 11. v. 4, 5, & 7. 

P 2 



212 Of Universal Redemption, [chaf, m 

" As concerning the Gospel, Ihey are enemies 
for your sakes : but as touching the Election^ 
they are beloved for the fathers sakes (x) :" the 
same persons, who in the latter clause of this pas- 
sage are pronounced to be " beloved as touching 
the Election/' are in the former clause pronounced 
to be " enemies as concerning the Gospel and 
consequently Election cannot mean Election of 
individuals to Salvation. This is said of the un- 
believing Jews, who were " beloved" as belong- 
ing to the chosen people of God, and " enemies'* 
because they rejected the Gospel. It is remark- 
able, that in the same chapter St. Paul speaks of 
the twofold Election of the Jews : in the verse^ 
now under consideration he speaks of their Elec- 
tion to be God's peculiar people under the Mosaic- 
law^ and in the passage just before quoted ho 
5peaks of their Election under the Gospel dis- 
pensation. The latter he calls " the Election of 
Grace;' 5 the former the Election which makes them 
still t£ beloved," notwithstanding their unbelief^ 
M for the Fathers sakes," on account of their 
descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

St. Paul says to Timothy, " I endure all things, 
for the elects sake, that they may also obtain 
the Salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal 
glory (y) :' St. Paul therefore submitted to his 

sufferings 

■(9) "Rom, c, 1 u r* 2$t (?) a Tiro, c ? 2» v, 10, 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 213 
sufferings and labours with a view of promoting 
and securing the Salvation of the elect, and con- 
sequently he did not consider their Salvation as 
certain, but as depending upon the success of his 
exertions. This is perfectly consistent with the 
•idea of the elect being Christian converts in 
general, who might or might not be saved, but 
cannot be reconciled with the Calvinistic notion, 
that the elect are persons infallibly destined to 
Salvation. 

* There shall be great tribulation, such as was 
TiOt since the bea-inning of the world to this time, 
«o, nor ever shall be. And except those days 
should be shortened, there should no flesh be 
saved (z) : but for the elects sake those days shall 
be shortened. Then, if any man shall say unto 
you, Lo, here is Christ, or there ; believe it not. 
For there shall arise false Christs,and false prophets, 
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch 
that, if it were possible ( a), they shall deceive the 

very 

(z) It appears from the context, that the word " saved" 
4oes not here relate to eternal Salvation, but to preserva- 
tion in this world. 

(a) The words of the original, «5yva7ov, do not imply 
physical impossibility, but only a great degree of diffi- 
culty : thus St. Paul " hasted, if it were possible for him, 
a tiuvotiov ysv ewla, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost," 
Acts 20. v. 16. — the thing itself was possible, but it re- 
quired exertion, and St. Paul did all he could to accom- 
plish it. In like manner it was possible for the elect to 

P 3 be 



214 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, iv, 

very elect (b) :" our Saviour is here describing 
the unparalleled distresses which would attend the 
approaching destruction of Jerusalem ; distresses so 
severe, that if they were to continue, no one could 
possibly escape ; but for the sake of the elect, of 
those Christians who will adhere to the profession 
of their Faith in the midst of trials and afflictions, 
it w ill please God to shorten this tribulation. In 
those days, marry impostors will arise calling 
themselves prophets, each pretending to be the 
Messiah, and they will practise every art and 
contrivance, to deceive, if they possibly can, even 
those who are instructed in the knowledge of the 
true Christ. " Immediately after the tribulation 
of those days .... he shall send his angels with 
a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather 
together his elect from the four winds, from one 
end of heaven to the other (c) f immediately 
after the destruction of Jerusalem he will send his 
messengers or ministers into every quarter of the 
world to preach his Religion, who will gather into 
one holy Catholic Church all w T ho shall embrace 
and sincerely believe it ; and thus the dissolution 

of 

be deceived, and it was here predicted by our Saviour, 
that the false prophets would do all they could to effect 
it, Ct to bewitch those, that they should not obey the truth, 
before whose eyes Jesus Christ had been evidently set 
forth." Gal. c. 3. v. I. 

(b) Matt. c. 24. v. 21—24. (c) Ver, 29. & 31, 



Election, and Reprobation. 215 

-of the Jewish polity, ecclesiastical and civil, will 
be succeeded by the formation of the Christian 
Church ; the Jewish theocracy and the Temple 
service will be utterly abolished , and the kingdom 
of Christ and the worship of God in spirit and in 
truth immovably established. The whole of this 
passage, in its primary sense, is prophetic of the de- 
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and of the 
subsequent propagation of the Gospel among the 
Gentiles : and there seems not the slightest ground 
for considering the elect here spoken of, as persons 
selected by an irreversible decree of God for Sal- 
vation Jn the life to come; and indeed such an 
idea is not reconcilable with the cautions^which 
our Saviour gave to his disciples upon this occa- 
sion. This prophecy, like others, was designed 
as a confirmation of the truth of the Gospel ; and 
its precise accomplishment, of which we have the 
most satisfactory testimony (d), must have had 
great effect upon the minds of those who lived at 
that time, many of whom both heard the predic- 
tion, and saw its fulfilment. 

" Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy 
and beloved, bowelrs of mercies, kindness, hum- 
bleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbear- 
ing 

(d) Vide Bishop Newton's 18th Dissertation on the 
Prophecies, and Kett's History the Interpreter of Pro- 
phecy, 

p 4 



21 6 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 

ing one another, and forgiving one another, if any 
man have a quarrel against any : even as Christ 
forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these 
things put on charity, which is the bond of per- 
fectness. And let the peace of God rule in your 
hearts, to the which also ye are called in one 
body (e) :" the Apostle here applies the word 
elect to all the Colossian Christians, and tells 
them that they had been u called in one body to 
the peace of God," through the knowledge of the 
Gospel : he exhorts them to walk worthy of that 
holy Faith which they had embraced ; and not 
the slightest intimation is given of any decree of 
God by which their Salvation was made certain; 
but on the contrary, their Salvation is represented 
as depending upon themselves, upon their " con- 
tinuing in the Faith, grounded and settled, and 
not moved away from the hope of the Gospel (f)? 

v When Rebecca also had conceived by one, . 
even by our Father Isaac ; (for the children being 
not yet born, neither having done any good or 
evil, that the purpose of God, according to Elec^ 
tion, might stand, not of works, but of him that 
calleth) it was said unto her, The elder shall 
serve the younger : As it is written, Jacob have 
I loved, but Esau have I hated (g) \ the purpose 

of 

(e) Qo\ t c» 3. v. 12, 13, Sec. {/) Col. c. 1. v. 23. 
(g) Rom. c, 9. v. io^jj. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 217 
of Election here spoken of, has no relation to a 
future life, but refers to the Election of the de- 
scendants of Jacob to be Gocf s peculiar people, in 
preference to the descendants of Esau ; and this 
is the meaning of the expression, (t Jacob have 
I loved, but Esau have I hated." te The elder 
shall serve the younger' was not true of Jacob 
and Esau, as Esau never served Jacob ; but it 
was true of their posterity, as the Edomites, the 
descendants of Esau, served the Israelites, the 
descendants of Jacob, which is distinctly men- 
tioned in the original prophecy in the book of 
Genesis, " And the Lord said unto Rebecca, 
two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of 
people shall be separated from thy bowels: and 
the one people shall be stronger than the other 
people: and the elder shall serve the younger (7* )T 

The word Reprobate, or Reprobation, as used 
by Calvin, refers to a supposed decree of God; 
but we shall find it used in a very different sens^ 
both in the Old and New Testament. 

In the Old Testament, it occurs only once ac- 
cording to our translation; " Reprobate silver 
shall men call them, because the Lord hath re* 
jected them (i)" In the original Hebrew, and 
also in the Septuagint Greek version, it is the 
game word which our translators have rendered 

" reprobate" 

(h) Gen. c. 25. v. 23. (?) Jer, fc, 6. v, ^q. 



it 8 Of 6 Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 
" reprobate" when applied to silver, and " re- 
jected" when applied to the Jews : in both lan- 
" guages we have an active verb, and its passive 
participle (k) ; from which it is evident that " re- 
probate 

(k) In the original Hebrew, the word translated ccttq- 
%zhm/&torpi&6V is the passive participle of the word which 
signifies to reject, despise^ abominate. Of this verb, Gus- 
setitis, in his Hebrew Lexicon, written expressly with 
the design of ascertaining the primary senses of the words 5 
and thence deducing their looser acceptations, remarks, 
that all its meanings are reducible to one, namely* 
&woM>cif*<z&rS, reprobate. He adds, C€ Actus est judicii, 
fiascens ex opinione cjualitatum malarum, seu per se, seu 
quoad. nos, aut saltern ex defectu bonarum, praesertim in 
comparatione ad subjectum bonis qualitatibus satis in- 
Structum. Efrectus proximus est prsetermissio, absti- 
fientia ab utendo. Id autem fit ob defectus vel physicos 
vel morales. Ef si fiat ob peccata, trahit post se pcenam* 
4to, Lipsias 1743, p. 867. The same Hebrew word is 
used 1 Sam. c, 8. v*?.. c. 15. v. 23. 2 Kings, c. 17. v. 20. 
Is.c. 7. v. 15 & 16. c. 30. v. 12. Jer. c. 7. v. 29. c. 8. v. 9. 
Hos. c. 4. v. 6. c, 9. v. 17. In none of these passages 
does the word denote an arbitrary decree of God ; in some 
of them, where it is applied to God, as 1 Sam. c. 15. 
v. 23* Hos. c. 4. v. 6. & c. 9. v. 17. Jer. c. 7. v. 29. 
the ground of rejection is assigned in the context ; and 
throughout the Old Testament it involves the idea of 
judgement or discrimination, of God or of man. In the 
Septuagint version, we find also the word Sbxiftoj applied 
exclusively to gold or silver, Gen. c. 23. v. 16. 1 Kings, 
c* 10. v. 18. 1 Chron. c. 28. v. 18. c. 29. v. 4. 2 Chron. 
c. 9. v. 17. Zech. c. 11. v. 13. The Hebrew words in 
these places are various, signifying pure> solid, defecated, 

current. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 2ig 
probate silver" means rejected silver, silver reject- 
ed as not being good, in the same manner as God 
was about to reject the Jews on account of their 
wickedness. In the Septuagint, the word afoupos 
occurs twice, although it is not rendered reprobate 
in our translation, tuvtz adoKipov ccpyvpiov, and 
to upyvpiov vpuv ahxi^ov (I); and here again the 
word is applied to base silver, to silver rejected 
as not genuine. 

I now proceed to consider the passages in 
which the word Reprobate occurs in the New 
Testament 

St. Paul speaks of cc men of corrupt minds, 
reprobate concerning the Faith (m J," ocdoxipoi zrspi 
rw wiv — those who are unsound in Faith; who, 
in respect of their Faith are precisely what bad 
money or metal is with respect to its quality, 
unable to stand the iompn or proof, and therefore 
rejected as base and worthless. Here is no in- 
timation of any decree of God, by which the 
greater part of mankind, born in all the different 
ages of the world, and living under different dis- 
pensations, 

current. Aottifjuov occurs only twice, namely, Prov. c. 27. 
v. 2 1. Ps. 12. v. 7. meaning a test. The Hebrew word 
signifies a crucible, the test of purity in metals. 

(I) Prov. c. 25. v. 4. and Is. c. 1. v. 22. The Hebrew 
word in both these passage: is the same, and is rightly 
translated dross. 

(m) 2 Tim. c, 3. v. 8, 



220 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 
pensations, are consigned to eternal and inevitable 
misery ; but it is a prophetic description of the 
character of persons who wiH " in the last days" 
resist the truth of the Gospel, and reject the 
Faith of Christ. 

The same Apostle, speaking of the wickedness 
of the Gentile world prior to the coming of Christ, 
who, ' • when they knew God, glorified him not 
as God ( n)" says, that " as they did not like to re- 
tain God in their knowledge, God £ave them over 
to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are 
not convenient (o ) ;" this reprobate mind is not 
represented as the consequence of any antecedent 
decree of God, but as resulting from their own 
wilful blindness and voluntarv desertion of the 
worship of the Creator for that of the creature, 
although they " knew the judgement of God, that 
they which commit such things are worthy of 
death (p 

In writing to Titus concerning some of the 
Christian inhabitants of Crete, St. Paul says, 
*' They profess that they know God ; but in works 
they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, 
and unto every Good Work reprobate (q);" which 
expression relates merely to the wickedness of 
certain Cretans, whose lives did not correspond 

with 

(n) Rom. c, i. v. 21. (o) V. 28. (p) V. 32, 

(q) C. I. V, l6. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 221 

with the purity of that Faith which they professed : 
these men were to be rebuked sharply, that they 
might be " sound in the Faith (r) f it was there- 
fore possible that they might be reclaimed and 
saved; and consequently, though they were at 
present " reprobate," their perseverance in sin, 
and their perdition, were not irreversibly decreed, 
" Reprobate,*' and " sound in Faith/' are here 
opposed to each other. " Unto every Good 
Work reprobate," means, that when tried by Good 
Works, the test of a sound Faith, they were 
worthless and rejected. The original Greek 
word a&x*/*©? is translated rejected, when applied 
to the earth, u The earth which beareth thorns 
and briars, is rejected or reprobate ; as " Th& 
earth which bringeth forth not herbs meet for 
them by whom it is dressed (t),*' is rejected by 
men, so men, who profit not by the religious in- 
struction which they have received, but addict 
themselves to sin, and bring forth only the fruit 
of unrighteousness, are rejected by God. 

St. Paul says of him|elf, " I keep under my 
body, and bring it into subjection : lest that by 
any means when I have preached to others, 
J myself should be a cast-away (u)? or reprobate,. 

the 

(r) C.i. v. 13. (s) Heb. c.6. v.8. 

(t) Heb. c.6. v. 7, (u) 1 Cor, c. 9, jr. 27, 



222 Of 'linker ml 1 Redemption, [chap. ir. 
the word in the original being *$oxipo$: he could 
not mean, lest he should be a person destined by 
God from all eternity to everlasting punishment 
Til the preceding verse he says, " I so run, not 
as uncertainly;" and upon other occasions he 
expresses a confident hope in his own Salvation, 
founded in a consciousness of his exertions and 
sufferings " for the Gospels sake," and of his 
sincere obedience to that Religion, which " he 
had preached to others," He was at the same 
time aware that if he did not " keep under his 
body, and bring it into subjection," if he did not 
resist the evil propensities of his nature, and walk 
worthy of his holy vocation, his employment .as 
a Minister of Christ and Apostle of the Gentiles 
would not prevent his being " rejected" at the 
great day of final retribution. On the other 
hand, had he conceived himself to be one of the 
elect, he could not have admitted the possibility 
of his becoming a Rebrobate, in the Calvinistic 
sense of those words. 

■ 6 Examine yourselves^ whether ye be in the 
Faith ; prove your own selves : know ye not 
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in 
you, except ye be Reprobates? But I trust 
that ye shall know that we are not Reprobates. 
Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not 
i o th&t 



chap, iv.] E lectio??, and Reprobation. 03fc 
that we should appear approved, but that ye 
should do that which is honest, though we be as 
Reprobates fx )" in this passage, the words (i Re* 
probates" and " approved" are opposed to each 
other, as clearly appears from the original Greek 
words (y), and consequently the word " Repro-. 
bates" signifies disapproved or rejected ; " Know 
ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is. 
in . you, except ye be Reprobates r Do ye not 
know that the sanctifying Spirit of Christ dwelleth 
in you, unless by the corruption of your Faith 
and manners you have grieved and expelled the 
Holy Spirit, and so are become disapproved and 
rejected ? " But I trust that ye shall know that 
we are not Reprobates ;" but I trust that when I 
shall come to you this third time, I shall give you 
sufficient proof that I am not disapproved or re- 
jected by God, and that there is no ground fcf 
the calumnies of those who have endeavoured tQ 
lessen my credit among you. *■ Now I pray 
to God that ye do no evil, not that we should 
appear approved, but that ye should do that 
which is honest, though we be as Reprobates 
my principal anxiety is for you, and not for my- 
self * I earnestly pray to God, that in whatever 
light I may appear to you, you yourselves may 
be found guilty of no sin, but doing that which 

- i| 

(x) 2 Cor. c. I j. v. 5— 7. (y) g^qhimc and hmm;, ' 



224 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. it. 

is honest in the sight of God. The application 
of the word reprobate " to himself, is again of 
itself a decisive proof that St. Paul did not mean 
by it, a person to whom the capacity of attaining 
Salvation was denied. 

These are the only instances in which the word 
ahyciuo; occurs in the New Testament, and in 
no one of them is any decree of God mentioned 
or implied. The word in its primary signification 
is applied to metals or coins, which, not standing 
the test of purity, are rejected. In Ulpian we 
find the expression reprohos nummos (z) 9 so 
that Aifcxtfcaf and reprobus correspond to each 
other both in their original and derived senses. As 
metals and coins, when tried by their proper test, 
and found not to be pure and genuine, are rejected . 
as base ; so men, if their Faith does not stand 
that test to which it pleases God to subject it, are 
rejected as worthless. The word doxipos occurs 
frequently in the New Testament, and always 
bears a sense opj>osite to that of rejected ; it is 
six times translated approved fa J, and once 
tried (b) \ its exact meaning seems to be approved 
after trial, as afoxtpo's signifies rejected after trial ; 

the 

(% ) Lib. 24. 

(a) Rom. c. 14. v. 18. c. 16. v. 10. I Cor. c. u» 
v. 19. 2 Cor c. 10. v. 18. c, 13. v. 7. 2 Tim. c, 2* 
v. 15. 

(B) Jas. c. 1. v. 12. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation, 225 

the prominent idea in both is probation with its 
possible results (c). 

It appears then that the Calvinistic doctrines 
of Election and Reprobation can receive no 
countenance from the passages of Scripture in 
which these words occur, since they are used in 
senses very different from those which the advo- 
cates for absolute decrees affix to them. 

The 

(c) We shall find a corresponding sense in all the 
cognates of the word foxif*os : in the following passage the 
Greek word translated " trial" is -foxifjuov, and the word 
translated tried is &wi//a£o/*Evs, c< that the trial of your Faith 
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, 
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, 
and honour, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ/' 
I Pet. c. 1. v. 7 : Here the trial of men's Faith, upon 
which their Salvation is made to depend, is expressly com- 
pared with that of gold, the most valuable of metals, and 
therefore the most likely to be adulterated. The word 
3bxj/*«£fi) is in the following passage translated " to try," 
" not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts,'* 

1 Thess. c i, v. 4. and the word doxifw is translated trial 
in the following passage, 4< in a great trial of affliction,' 1 

2 Cor. c. 8. v. 2. The word Scm/mov is translated ".try- 
ing" in the following passage, " the trying of your Faith ^ 
worketh patience," Jas. c. 1. v. 3. The word hypx 
occurs several times in the New Testament, but never 
means an eternal decree of the Almighty. The words 
3sSby/*Evov, tfoobtno, &c. the passive tenses of 3b«e», which 
might express decrees, do not, I believe, occur in the 
New Testament. See Hesychius, v. adoni(Ms; also 
Biel's Thesaurus Phil, vv, u^ohi(m^ 3wHf*o$, 3cw<|t*a£«, 3ww- 

fUC/V, X.T.A. 

Q 



226 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, ir. 

The Jews first, and the Christians afterwards, 
were the elect people of God. God gave the Law 
to the Jews by the hands of Moses, and the Gospel 
to the Christians by his own Blessed Son Jesus 
Christ, as the rule of their respective lives. God 
was pleased, both by the Law and by the Gospel, 
to enter into Covenant fdj with his chosen people 
the Jews and Christians ; to promise reward to 
the obedient, and to threaten punishment to the 
disobedient. But neither in the Law, nor in the 
Gospel, does he promise certain and infallible 
Salvation, or threaten absolute and inevitable 
perdition, to any number, or to any description, 
of persons, 'except as they shall or shall not comply 
with the expressed conditions. Under both Cove- 
nants, the rewards and punishments are made to 
depend upon the voluntary conduct of each indi- 
vidual. There is a mutual connexion and exact 
consistency between these two Covenants ; they 
are indeed parts of the same system decreed by 
the inscrutable counsels of God, before the world 

be S an - Let 

(d) The very idea of Covenant is inconsistent with 
the Calvinistic system. Covenant implies conditions » 
absolute decrees reject all conditions. A Covenant says, 
you shall have such or such a reward, if you act in the 
manner stipulated ; absolute decrees say, that it is irre % 
versibly determined by the arbitral y will of God, that you 
shall or shall not be saved, without any respect to your 
conduct. 



cha!\ iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 227 

Let us now examine some other texts of Scrip- 
ture, which are urged by Calvinists as favour- 
able to their tenets of Election and Reprobation, 
although the words themselves do not occur in 
them. 

" The Lord hath made all things for himself ; 
yea even the wicked for the day of evil (e ) 
The wicked are indeed the work of his hands as 
being a part of the Creation ; and he gave them 
the faculties which they have abused and per- 
verted to a sinful purpose; but this power to 
abuse and pervert is inseparable from the character 
of a free agent. The true meaning of this passage 
is, that God made all things to display his own 
glorious attributes ; and that even wicked men, 
w T hose existence and frequent prosperity may 
seem scarcely reconcilable with the divine per- 
fections, will in the end be found to furnish the 
strongest proof of his long-suffering in bearing with 
their iniquities, and of his power and justice in 
punishing their incorrigible depravity : upon such 
men <c the day of evil" will ultimately come : 
" the wicked is reserved to the day of destruc- 
tion ; they shall be brought forth to the day of 
wrath (fj :" " What if God, willing to shew his 
wrath, and to make his power known, endured 

with 

(e) Prov, c. 16, v. 4. (f) Job, c. 21. v. 30. 
Q 2 



228 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. it. 

with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted 
to destruction (g) ? " 

St. John in his Gospel says that, " Though 
Christ had done so many miracles before them, 
yet they believed not on him : that the saying of 
Esaias the Prophet might be fulfilled, which he 
spake, Lord, who hath believed our report ? and 
to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ? 
Therefore they could not believe, because that 
Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, 
and hardened their heart ; that they should not 
see with their eyes, nor understand with their 
heart, and be converted, and I should heal 
them (h) There are many passages in the 
Gospels similar to this, and we are not to under- 
stand by them, that the events took place merely 
for the purpose that the sayings of the antient 
Prophets might be fulfilled ; or that God, by 
hardening the hearts, and blinding the understand- 
ings of the Jews, made it impossible for them to 
believe. God foresaw that a very large propor- 
tion of the Jews would reject the Gospel ; and he 
was pleased to foretel this among other events 
relative to the advent and ministry of Christ. It 
was designed that the fulfilment of these yarious 
predictions should form a part of the evidence of 
the divine authority of the Gospel What the 

Prophets 

(g) Rom, c. 9. v, 22. (h) John 5 c, 12, v. 37—40, 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 229 
Prophets had predicted, was certain to come to 
pass; bat this certainty by no means caused the 
events to be the decrees of God. They did not 
happen because they were foretold, but they were, 
for the wisest purpose, foretojd, because it was 
foreseen they would happen. The prescience of 
God is to be considered as perfectly distinct 
from his will. He foresees all the actions of 
men, both those which are conformable, and 
those which are contrary, to his will; but 
this prescience of God does not affect the free- 
agency of man (i). Freedom of will and liberty 
of action are the essential qualities of men, as 

moral 

(i) <c As the decree of God is eternal^ so is his know- 
ledge. And therefore, to speak truly and properly, there 
is neither fore-knowledge, nor after-knowledge in him. 
The knowledge of God comprehends all times in a 
point, by reason of the eminence and virtue of its infinite 
perfection. And yet I confess this is called fore- know- 
ledge in respect of us. But this fore-knowledge doth 
produce no absolute necessity. Things are not there- 
fore, because they are foreknown; but therefore they 
are foreknown, because they shall come to pass. If any 
thing should come to pass otherwise than it doth, yet 
God's knowledge could not be irritated by it, for then 
he did not know that it should come to pass as now it 
doth. Because every knowledge of vision necessarily 
presupposeth its object. God did know that Judas 
should betray Christ ; but Judas was not necessitated to 
be a traitor by God's knowledge. If Judas had not 
betrayed Christ, then God had not foreknown that Judas 
should betray him. The case is this : a watchman 

q 3 standing 



$30 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, iv. 

moral responsible beings ; but to foresee how every 
individual of the human race will, upon every oc- 
casion, determine and act, is the incomprehensible 

attribute 

standing on the steeple's top (as is the use in Germany) 
gives notice to them below, who see no such things, 
that company are coming, and how many ; his prediction 
is most certain, for he sees them. What a vain col- 
lection were it for one below to say, what if they do 
not come, then a certain prediction may fail. It may be 
urged that there is a difference between the two cases : 
in *his case the coming is present to the watchman ; but 
that which God foreknows is future. God knows what 
shall be, the watchman only knows what is. I answer, 
that this makes no difference at all in the case, by reason 
of that disparity which is between God's knowledge and 
ours : as that coming is present to the watchman, which 
is future to them who are below, so all those things which 
are future to us, are present to God, because his infinite 
and eternal knowledge doth reach to the future being 
of all agents and events. Thus much is plainly acknow- 
ledged byT. H. No. ii, that fore-knowledge is know- 
ledge, and knowledge depends on the existence of the 
things known, and not they on it. To conclude, the 
prescience of God doth not make things more necessary, 
than the production of the things themselves. But if the 
agents were free-agents, the production of the tilings 
doth not make the events to be absolutely necessary, but 
only upon supposition that the causes were so deter- 
mined, God's prescience proveth a necessity of infalli- 
bility, but not of antecedent extrinsecal determination to 
one. If any event should not come to pass, God did 
never foreknow that it would come to pass, for any 
knowledge necessarily presupposeth its object." Abp. 
Bramhall, p. 727. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 231 
attribute of the Deity. That such an attribute 
does belong to God, is placed beyond all doubt 
by the accurate accomplishment of numerous 
prophecies ; and the free-agency of man is pro- 
claimed in every page of Scripture, and confirmed 
by the experience of every moment. These 
sublime and important truths are to be treated as 
fundamental and incontrovertible principles ; and 
no interpretation of Scripture is to be admitted in 
contradiction to them. The Jews " could not 
believe" because of their own prejudices and lusts, 
and not because it was so decreed ; for a decree 
of this kind would not only have been inconsist- 
ent with their free-agency, but irreconcilable also 
with many passages of Scripture, and particularly 
with our Saviour's exhortations recorded in the 
same chapter, ** Walk while ye have the light, 
lest darkness come upon you : while ye have 
light, believe in the light, that ye may be the 
children of light (h) There was therefore no 
divine decree, which prevented the Jews from 
walking according to the doctrine of Christ, and 
embracing his religion, since we cannot suppose 
that our Saviour would call upon the Jews to do 
that which God had made impossible. That this 
is the right interpretation of St, John's quotation 
from Isaiah, is also evident from the terms in which 
the same passage is quoted by St. Matthew, 

" And 

(k) John, c. 12. v. 35 Sc 36,^ 
Q4 



232 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 

" And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, 
which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall 
not understand ; and seeing ye shall see, and shall 
not perceive; for this peoples heart is waxed 
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their 
eyes they have closed (I) :" Here it is expressly 
said, that they closed their own eyes ; and in 
other places we find their unbelief and rejection 
of the Gospel attributed to their own obstinacy 
and wickedness. " How often would I have 
gathered thy children together, as a hen doth 
gather her brood under her wings, and ye would 
not fmj I v "If they hear not Moses and the 
Prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though 
one rose from the dead ( n) :" " It was necessary 
that the word of God should first have been 
spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from- you, and 
judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, 
we turn to the Gentiles (oj: 9 " They loved dark- 
ness rather than light, because their deeds were 
evil (p) The wickedness and perverseness of 
the Jews blinded their understandings, and indis- 
posed them to receive the truth, though delivered 
in the plainest terms, and attested by the fullest 
evidence. " Those places of Scripture, says 
Dr. Jortin, are easily reconciled, in which the 

wicked 

(I) Matt. c. 13. v. 14 & 15. (m) Luke, c. 13. v. 34, 
(n) Luke, c. 16. v. 31. (0) Acts, c. 13. v. 46. 

(p) jsohn, c. 3. v. 19. 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 233 

wicked are represented usually as hardening them- 
selves, and sometimes as being hardened of God. 
They harden themselves, because it is by their own 
choice, by their own obstinacy and perverseness 
that they become obdurate; and they are hardened 
of God, not by any proper and immediate act of 
God, depriving them of reason and liberty, or com- 
pelling them to do evil ; but quite on the con- 
trary, by his continuing to give them both motives 
and opportunities to do well ; which gifts being 
rejected and abused are the innocent cause, or the 
occasion of their greater wickedness, and in this 
sense they are hardened by the very goodness of 
God. Besides, in the style of Scripture, God is 
often said to do what he only permits to be done ; 
and in all other languages also, the occasion is 
put for the cause, both as to persons, and as to 
things. c I came not to send peace upon earth, 
but a sword (q) 9 says our Lord ; that is, my 
Gospel, though it ought to produce peace and 
love, will prove the occasion of strife and 
enmity ( rj " 

" As many as were ordained to eternal life, 
believed (s) i' 1 This text does not mean, that there 

was 

'(q) Matt. c. 10. v. 34. (r) Diss. 1st. 

(s) Acts, c. 13. v. 48. — " The words oaoi rslxy^£vo t 
may might have as well been rendered, 4 as many as were 
set in order, or made ready,' and then the context had 
plainly illustrated the text. For in the same verse we 
find that this was spoken of the Gentiles, who were glad 

and 



234 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 

was an ordinance of God appointing that certain 
persons of those who were present should believe 
and obtain eternal life ; but it beins; the declared 
will of God, that none, to whom the Gospel was 
made known, should obtain eternal life, who did 
not believe, and God foreseeing who would be- 
lieve, it might be said, that those believed who 
were ordained to eternal life, that is, those who 
God foresaw would comply with the ordained 
condition of Faith in Christ, upon which eternal 
life was offered. There is nothing in the original 
words which favours the Calvinistic doctrine, that 
God had by his own unalterable decree made it 
impossible for some to believe, and others not to 
believe; and whoever reads the whole passage 
carefully and impartially, will observe, that both 
believers and unbelievers are represented as act- 
ing from their own free choice, and not under the 
control of an irresistible destinv. Ail might have 

believed. 

and glorified God, that the words of Salvation and Ever- 
lasting Life belonged to them also. (v. 46, 47.) But 
who these Gentiles were, we learn more particularly from 
verse 43, namely, that they were some arsQcixevm uspoarihurciiv, 
of the devout or worshipping Proselytes, those who 
believed a life to come, and sought for the happiness 
thereof, and who therefore were in a fit posture to lay 
hold of that great promise of the Gospel, being both 
prepared to hear what the Apostles had to say concern- 
ing the way and means of obtaining it, and also to make 
use of such means, when once they were thoroughly 
instructed in them." Stebbing* 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 235 

believed. The general call of the Gentiles is 
mentioned in the preceding verse as the appoint- 
ment of God, and therefore, on that account also, 
as many of the Gentiles as were then present and 
believed, might be said to be ordained 'to eter- 
nal life, because the attainment of eternal life was 
the consequence of that divine appointment. 

" We know that all things work together for 
good to them that love God, to them who are the 
called according to his purpose : For whom he did 
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed 
to the image of his Son, that he might be the first- 
born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he 
did predestinate, them he also called ; and whom 
he called, them he also justified, and whom he 
justified, them he also glorified ( t)." We know that 
all things, whether adverse or prosperous, co-ope- 
rate in the end for the permanent good of those who 
sincerely love God, of those who are called to the 
knowledge of the Gospel according to the eternal 
purpose of God ; for he ordained and decreed, 
that those, who he foreknew would believe and 
obey the Gospel, should resemble his blessed Son 
by following his example, that he might have many 
brethren, who would be joint-heirs with him, and 
partakers of that happiness which he enjoyed. 
Moreover, those, to whom it was fore-ordained 
of God that the Gospel should be made known, 

he 

(t) Rom. c. 8. v. 28— -30. 



23*} Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 
he has now actually called, and those whom he 
has called, he has justified from all their former 
sins ; and those whom he has justified, he has 
glorified by his grace and all the other privileges 
of the Gospel Covenant. In the former part of 
this passage, the good spoken of is confined to 
those who love God, and act conformably to his 
purpose in revealing the Gospel : this their con- 
duct God foreknew, and graciously determined 
to reward with eternal felicity. In the latter part 
of the passage, every thing is represented as past 
• — the predestination, the calling, the justification, 
the glorification. Of the predestination and the 
calling, there can be no doubt ; and it has been 
proved that the word Justification as applied to 
Christians always refers to this life, and here it 
means the remission of sins granted at the time of 
baptism : and the word glorified, being, both in 
the original Greek and in our Translation, in the 
same tense as the words predestinated, called, 
and justified, must also relate to something which 
has already taken place; it relates to that " Spirit of 
Glory and of God," which St. Peter says, "resteth 
upon Christians (uf in this world ; to that 
" kingdom and glory," to which St. Paul tells his 
Thessalonian converts God had called them (x) ; 
to that " change into the same image with Christ 
from glory to glory," which he announces to 

the 

(u) i Pet. c. 4. v. 14. (%) 1 Thessi c. 2. v. 12, 



chap. TV.] Election, and Reprobation. 237 

the Corinthians/^. When St. Paul speaks of 
_ the final glorification, he speaks of it as a thing 
future, " the sufferings of this present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us fz)" in the life to come; 
" when Christ, who is our life, shall" appear, 
then shall ye also appear with him in glory ( a }? 
The predestination therefore mentioned in this 
passage, signifies God's purpose of making known 
the Gospel, and of bestowing eternal happiness 
upon those who shall make a right use of the 
means of grace : this is very different from an 
irrespective and irreversible, decree, absolutely 
appointing particular individuals to everlasting 
happiness, and subjecting the rest of mankind to 
endless and inevitable misery. 

" Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will" 
have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet 
find fault? for who hath resisted his will ? N ay but, 
O man, who art thou that replies! against God ? 
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, 
Why hast thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter 
power over the clay, of the same lump to make 
one vessel unto honour, and another unto dis- 
honour ? What if God, willing to shew his 
wrath, and to make his power known, endured 
with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath 

fitted 

(y) 2 Cor. c. 3. v. 18, (%) Rom, c. 8. v. 18. 
( a) Col. c, 3. v, 4. 



238 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, iv. 
fitted to destruction : And that he might make 
known the riches of his glory on the vessels of 
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory ? 
Even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews 
only, but also of the Gentiles (b) The whole 
of the Chapter from which this passage is taken, 
and which is generally thought to abound in 
difficulties, seems to become easily intelligible, by 
considering that it refers to the present world only. 
In the former part of it St. Paul laments the un- 
belief and consequent rejection of his brethren the 
Jews, to whom had so long " pertained " those 
distinctions which marked them to be the chosen 
people of God, and from whom Christ himself 
was descended. But in the midst of his sorrow 
he comforts himself with the reflection, that " the 
word of God'' had taken some "effect," as a portion 
of the Jews had believed, and were therefore of 
the number of God's newly elected people, the 
Christians. He shews that this partial adoption 
of the Jews in the present instance is similar to 
what had happened in the case of Abraham's 
descendants, all of whom were not Israelites, or 
chosen people of God, but only those who sprang 
from Isaac and Jacob. He quotes God s own 
declaration, that he " will have mercy on whom 
he will have mercy, and will have compassion on 
whom lie will have compassion which mercy 

and 

(h) Rom. c. 9. v, 1 8 — 24. 



chap. iv. J Election, and Reprobation. 259 
,and compassion must always be exercised without 
-any violation of the eternal rules of justice : the 
above declaration was made to Moses after God 
had laid aside his purpose of " consuming" the 
Israelites for worshipping the golden calf, and 
when he " repented of the evil which he thought to 
do unto his people fc^: 5 ' The mercy therefore 
here spoken of is not forgiveness of sins granted 
to each person separately at the day of judgement, 
but Gods receiving his chosen people collectively 
into favour again after they had displeased him ; 
such national reconciliation in this world, as well 
as the original Election of a peculiar people for the 
purpose of executing the great plans of Divine 
Providence, being perfectly consistent with strict 
retribution to individuals in a future life. The 
Apostle shews from the antient Scripture, that 
Pharaoh's disobedience and wickedness were the 
means of making known the power of God ; and 
repeats, that God shews or does not shew mercy, 
according to the determination of his sovereign 
will. He supposes someone to object; If this 
be the case, why does God find fault, since his 
will cannot be resisted ? St. Paul answers by first 
reproving the presumption of this objection as 
urged by a creature against his Creator, who has 
the same power over his creatures which a potter 
has over the vessels he forms ; and he then de- 
clare 

(c) Excdus, c. 32. v. 14. 



240 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 
clares, that though God's power is irresistible, he 
does not act arbitrarily and capriciously, but in 
all his dealings with the sons of men he never fails 
to display his own perfect attributes. Even this 
example of the Potter, proves that the Apostle is 
speaking of this life only. Vessels made for dif- 
ferent purposes, for noble or mean uses, resemble 
the different ranks of society into which men, by 
divine appointment, are born ; but this does not 
imply that the higher are more worthy in the 
sight of God than the lower, since each person 
will hereafter be judged " according to his deeds" 
in that tation in which he is placed. In like 
manner the Election of a people for a peculiar 
purpose, does not suppose the rest of the world 
neglected or punished, except so far as their 
conduct may deserve it. The " enduring with 
much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted 
to destruction," relates to God's forbearance 
in sparing the Jews and giving them time 
to repent, although by their heinous sins and 
numerous provocations they had long deserved to 
be destroyed. " That he might make known the 
riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which 
he had afore prepared unto glory," relates to 
God's gracious offer of the blessings of the Gospel 
to those who he foreknew would accept them, 
as appears, from the verse immediately following, 
" Even us, whom he hath called, not of the, 
i Jews 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 241 
Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." He then 
jquotes several prophecies relative to the call of 
the Gentiles, and the embracing of the Gospel 
by only a small number of the Jews ; and it is 
evident from the original passage in Isaiah, and 
also from the context in this Chapter, that the 
expression, " a remnant shall be saved (dj" re- 
lates to preservation in this world, " upon the 
earth," so that the Israelites should not be utterly 
destroyed, as Sodom and Gomorrah were. In 
all this there is no mention of any absolute decree 
of God, by which some men are destined to 
happiness and others to misery, in the world to 
come. The unbelief of the greater part of the 
Jews, their ceasing to be the chosen people of 
God, and the call of the Gentiles, the subjects 
treated of in this Chapter, were all circumstances 
which had already taken place; and they are 
illustrated by passages of the Old Testament, and 
by events there recorded, all confined to this life, 
without any allusion to a future state of existence. 

" Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is 
precious : but unto them which be disobedient, 
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same 
is made the head of the corner ; and a stone 
of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them 
which stumble at the word, being disobedient ; 

whereunto 

(d) Ver t 27, 

R 



242 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. rv\ 

whereunto also they were appointed (e ) i. We are 
not by this to understand that it was " appointed" 
or decreed by God, that certain persons to whom 
the Gospel was preached, should be disobedient ; 
but, that it was appointed and decreed, that if 
men disobeyed the Gospel, it should be to them 
a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, that 
is, a cause of punishment. And this is a doctrine 
w hich we meet with in various parts of Scripture ; 
Simeon, in the spirit of prophecy, declared to the 
mother of Jesus, " Behold, this child is set for 
the fall and rising again of many in Israel (f) v 
" To the one we are the savour of death unto 
death ; and to the other the savour of life unto 
life ( g) f " Behold the goodness, and severity of 
God : on them which fell, severity ; but towards 
thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness : 
otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off (h Were 
these men appointed by God to disobedience, 
then disobedience would be the compliance with 
the divine appointment or will, and the same act 
would be both obedience and disobedience. And 
it seems impossible that disobedience, if it takes 
place in consequence of an absolute decree of 
God, should be imputed to men as a fault, and 
be made the ground of punishment. But can we 

suppose 

(e) I Pet. c. 2. v. 7 & 8. (f) Luke, c. 2. v. 34, 
(g) 2 Cor, c. 2, v. 16. (h) Rom. c. 11. v. 22* 



chap, iy.] Election, and Reprobation, 243 

suppose that God made disobedience inevitable, 
when we are told, that " man is not to put a 
stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his 
brother's way (i) ?*' Or is such a decree reconcile- 
able with the attributes of justice and mercy ? 

The same observations will apply to the follow- 
ing passage in the Epistle of St. Jude ; " There 
are certain men crept in unawares, who were 
before of old ordained to this condemnation, un- 
godly men, turning the grace of our God into 
lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, 
and our Lord Jesus Christ (k) :" We are not to 
infer from hence that God, by an ordinance, 
causes these men to be thus ungodly ; but that he 
ordained that those, who he foresaw would be 
guilty of such practices, should suffer a severe 
condemnation ; and accordingly the Apostle pro- 
ceeds to enumerate many instances of wicked men, 
who drew down upon themselves the vengeance 
of their offended Maker. 

" Who hath saved us, and called us with an 
holy calling, not according to our works, but 
according to his own purpose, and grace, which 
was given us in Christ Jesus, before ihe world 
began (I) :" The "works" of fallen and de- 
praved men could not merit so great a blessing as 

everlasting 

(i) Rom, c. 14. v. 13. (k) Ver, 4, 

(I) % Tim. c. 1. v. 9. 
E, 2 



244 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iV- 

everlasting happiness. God's "own purpose, be* 
fore the world began," means his eternal purpose, 
springing from his own essential goodness and, 
mercy, to offer Salvation to mankind through 
Christ. H Who hath saved us," that is, us Chris-- 
tians ; by which and other similar expressions, as 
lias been before observed, we are not to understand^ 
that all who embrace the Gospel are actually 
saved, or absolutely certain of Salvation; but that 
all Christians are supplied with the means of Sal- 
vation through that grace which is given them. 

From this examination of the passages of 
Scripture, in which the words Elect and Repro- 
bate occur, and also of those texts which are 
generally quoted in support of the doctrines of 
Election and Reprobation, it appears that elect 
mid reprobate persons, in the Calvinistic sense, 
are not even known in the Old or New Testament. 
To send Christ into the world that mankind might 
be saved, was indeed the eternal purpose of God * 
this he decreed from the beginning; but, in 
making this decree, he did not appoint, that the 
benefits of Christ's mission should be enjoyed by 
certain individuals only, but that they should 
extend to all who believed and obeyed ; and thai* 
every one, to whom the Gospel should be made, 
known, should have the power of helieving and 
obeying. There was no absolute Election of parti* 

culeyf 



chap, iy.] Election, and Reprobation. 245 

cular persons who must necessarily be saved, but 
ja conditional offer of Salvation to all. If the 
Redemption purchased by the death of Christ 
be confined to the elect, the design of Christ's 
coming into the world was to save the elect, and 
the elect only, and not " to save sinners ( m )" in 
general. But we find not in Scripture a single 
text which thus restrains the object of Christ's 
Incarnation; and on the other hand, we have seen 
that there are numerous passages upon this sub- 
ject, of the most comprehensive signification. The 
jmpenitently wicked are alone excluded from "the 
blessed hope of everlasting life which God has 
given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ." 

Calvin considers the Fall of Adam, and all the 
corruption and depravity of the human race, as the 
necessary effects of an eternal decree of God. 
Those, however, who admit the authenticity of the 
Scriptures, must acknowledge that God com- 
manded Adam not to eat of the tree of the know^ 
ledge of good and evil ; and that at no period 
were mankind left without a positive law from 
God. And can we believe that God forbade the 
Pall, which by an antecedent decree he had 
rendered inevitable ? That he gave a command- 
ment to Adam, which by his original formation 
jhe was absolutely unable to obey ? That he made 

the 

(m) 1 Tim. c. 1. v. 15, 

*3 



246 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. 1 v. 

the possession of Paradise, and the continuance of 
his innocence and happiness, to^ depend upon a 
condition, which it was physically impossible for 
him to fulfil? It was indeed a decree of God, to 
create Man and to endow him with free- agency ; 
but the bad actions of men, which arose from the 
abuse of this Free-will, are not to be considered as 
the decrees of God. All which can be said of 
them with reference to God is, that they are the 
consequence of his decree. It is indispensably 
necessary to distinguish between those works 
which are done by the immediate will and ope- 
ration of God, and those works which are done by 
free agents who derive their free-agency from 
him. The former may very properly be said to 
be the decrees of God, because " known unto God 
are all his works, from the beginning of the 
world (n) f, of this kind are the Creation of Man, 
the Call of Abraham, and the Redemption through 
Christ. But the actions of free agents can only 
be said to be permitted by God ; and of this kind 
are the Fall of Adam, and every other humair 
transgression of the Divine Will. Many of God s 
decrees arose from the foreseen conduct of men ; 
such as, the Deluge, the giving of the Law by 
Moses,, and the Revelation of his Will from time 
to time, by the Prophets. And God frequently 

jnakes 

(n) Acts, c. 15. v. 18. 



$hap. iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 247 

makes the sinfulness of men the means of accom- 
plishing his own wise and gracious purposes, of 
which we have a signal instance in the death of 
our Saviour himself, who " by wicked hands was 
crucified and slain (0)" and thus made the 
propitiation for the sins of the whole world (p) : s 
in this manner was Christ a delivered by the de- 
terminate counsel and foreknowledge of God ( q 
and the Jews and Roman Gentiles " did what- 
soever the hand and the counsel of God deter- 
mined before to be done (r), 9 ' Not only God's 
own immediate works are known to him from the 
beginning of the world, but also all the works of 
all his creatures. All futurity is open to his view. 
He knows all the words, thoughts, and actions of 
men, and all the events passing at any one 
moment, or which will hereafter take place, in 
every part of the universe (s ). He is not circum- 
scribed 

(0) Acts, c. 2. v. 23. (p) 1 John, c. 2, v. 2. 

(q) Acts, c. 2. v. 23. (r) Acts, c. 4, v. 27 &*28. 

(s ) Omnia in perpetuo stabili et immutabili yuv Deus 
jntuetur, omnem teinporis mensurani et circumscrip- 
tionem longissime transcendit, ornniaque temporum 
spatia et intervalla seternitatis suae proprietatc excludit. 
Ut praeteritorum non remhiiscitur, ita nec futura. a 
Jongo prsevidet. Praescieutia ergo Dei est prassens visi- 
onis scientia, xai wctflenokta. Gerhardus. u Hence 
God calls himself, I am. In Him there is nothing past, 
jiothing to come, but all is present"— Wisheart, p. 606, 

St 4 



248 Of Universal Redemption^ [chap, iv. 

scribed by the relations either of time or place ; 
past, present, and to come, near and remote, are 
to him the same. Nothing gives a more sublime 
idea of the attributes of the Deity, than this con- 
sideration, that the whole aggregate and series of 
events, <;o-existing over immensity of space, and 
successive through endless ages of eternity — some 
resulting from the Free-will of rational agents, 
and others dependent upon the operation of irra- 
tional or mechanical causes — are at once present 
to His all-seeing eye. However incompetent we 
may be to the full comprehension of such perfect 
tion, it is impossible to contemplate it without 
feelings of devout admiration and religious awe. 

It ought not perhaps to excite surprise, that 
mistakes should have arisen in reasoning upon 
the conduct of men, or in reflecting upon occur- 
rences in which they are interested. As every 
thing which takes place in this world, takes place 
not only with the permission of God, but is ^ 
effected by powers of which he is the source and 
origin, whether the agents be animate or inani- 
mate ; and as the divine prescience is acknow- 
ledged to extend through all time, it is natural 
that men should attribute to the immediate act of 
God events permitted by him, .effected by powers 
derived from him, and foreknown by him. This 
would be the language of pious and grateful men 



jehaf. iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 249 
in speaking of their prosperity, though they were 
conscious that their own exertions had been instru- 
mental in procuring the blessings they enjoyed ; 
and persons conscious of deserving punishment 
for disregard to the laws of God, would as readily 
attribute tc his immediate act their sufferings in 
adversity. Thus the effusions of piety and grati- 
tude, and the stings of remorse, would ultimately 
lead to expressions which might seem to convey 
the idea of divine decrees universally directing 
and controlling human conduct and human affairs. 
The finite derivative agency of Man would be lost 
in the infinite self-existing power .of God ; and 
events, foreseen by God, as resulting from the 
free exercise of faculties conferred by himself, 
would be considered as commanded and appointed 
by him. 

There is a great difference between the not 
being able to comprehend the whole or any par- 
ticular part of the divine economy, and the ascrib- 
ing to the Deity a mode of acting inconsistent 
with his attributes. Thus, 1 do not attempt to 
explain, or pretend to understand, how the free- 
agency of Man is reconcilable with the prescience 
of God. I cannot comprehend how those future 
contingencies, which depend upon the determina- 
tion of the human w ill, should be so certainly and 
infallibly foreseen, as to be the objects of the sure 

word 



St,5o Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv„ 
word of prophecy; stilly however, I believe both 
in the prescience of God and free-agency of Man, 
for the reasons already stated ; and I see in them 
no contradiction to each other, or to any acknow- 
ledged truth. Here is a just exercise of my 
Faith, upon a -subject which exceeds the limits of 
my understanding ; it is above, but not contrary 
to, reason. But that God should of his owri 
good pleasure, without any respect to their con* 
duct, irreversibly predestinate one part of mankind 
to eternal happiness, and the other part to ever- 
lasting misery, is a doctrine which I consider so 
inconsistent with the attributes of infinite justice 
and infinite mercy, that I cannot bring myself to 
"believe it. It is not merely that I am unable to 
reconcile these two things^ or to understand how 
they are consistent with each other, but it appears 
to me a palpable contradiction to say, that a just 
and merciful God created some men for the pur- 
pose of being eternally miserable, without giving 
them the capacity of avoiding that misery. And 
to add, as the Calvinists do, that God acted thus 
to promote his own glory, is so dreadful an asser- 
tion, that I should not have conceived it possible 
to be made by persons calling themselves Chris- 
tians. This is not a difficulty in the dispensations 
of God towards men, which relates to this world 
only, and may be corrected in that which is to 
1 1 come j 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 251 
come ; it comprehends both worlds, both states of 
human existence, present and future ; it is a decreed 
extending to all eternity, absolute and irreversible. 
Nor is it a system partially and imperfectly de- 
scribed, in which we may be at present deceived, 
but which may hereafter appear wise, just, and 
merciful, when completely revealed, and fully 
understood — an irrevocable sentence of everlast- 
ing torment is of itself a Whole, and open to no 
misconception — endless and irremediable pain, 
known by the sufferers to be such, admits of no 
palliative, no consolation, no hope. 

These observations may serve as an explanation 
and defence of the reasoning which I have used 
\n my Exposition of the 1 7th Article (t J, and 
* £ which has been thought in some degree liable 
to objection." In opposition to the Calvinists, I 
have there ' represented Predestination as founded 
in foreseen obedience or disobedience (u ) ; and 

I have 

(t) Elements of Christian Theology. 

(u) Cum Deus ab asterno pnssciat omnia actu futura^ 
ac proinde novit hunc hominem ad rincm usque Christo 
crediturum, ilium vero non ita crediturum ; cert u in est 
Deum huic ita considerate vitam, illi mortem aeternam 
decernere. Quicquid enim facit in tempore, id ab aeterno 
facere decrevit; at in tempore se,rvat hunc credentem, 
ilium incredulum damnat : quare, ut cum Fulgentio 
loquamur, praedestinavit illos ad supplicium, quos a s© 
praescivit voluntatis malae vitio discessuros ; et praedesti- 

iiavii 



2.5* Of Universal Redemption, [chap, iv, 
I have added, " this appears to me the only sens© 
in which Predestination is reconcilable with the, 
attributes of God and the free-agency of Man 
and afterwards I have said, " we are utterly 
incapable of comprehending how God's prescience 
consists with the other attributes of the Deity and 
with the free-agency of Man." These two pro- 
positions have been thought inconsistent with 
each other, from the want of adverting, as I con- 
ceive, to the distinction between a doctrine which 
is inco reprehensible, and a doctrine which is 
irreconcilable with the attributes of God, or with 
any known truth. I reject the Cajvinistic doc- 
trine of Predestination, not because it is incom- 
prehensible, bat because I think it irreconcilable 
with the justice and goodness of God. I v dp not 
reject the doctrine of the prescience of God, 
though I profess myself incapable of comprehend- 
ing how it consists with the other attributes of the. 
Peity, and with the tree-agency of M an . I do 

pot 

navit ad regnum, qnos ad se prasscivit misericordise prse- 
venientis auxilio credituros, et in se misericordis sub- 
sequentis auxilio mansuros. Et hoc decrecum salvandi 
singulares personas praevisa Fide, sed non ob praevisam 
Fidem, Praedestinaiionis nomine intellexerunt omnes 
Cath'^lici Scriptores ante Augustip.i tempora. — Grotius. 

(x) « The reconciling the Prescience of God with the 
Free-will of Man, Mr. Locke, after much thought on 
the subject, freely confessed he could not do, though he 

acknowledge^ 



chap, iv.] Election? and Reprobation* 255 
not say, that God's prescience is not consistent 
- with his other attributes and the free-agency of 
Man, but I say, that I am incapable of compre- 
hending how they consist. The fact I believe; 
but the manner of accomplishing it I do not 
understand. This is a very material distinction 
in theological subjects. Incomprehensibility is 
not a just ground for rejecting a doctrine ; but if a 
doctrine contradicts any plainly revealed truth, it 
ought to be rejected. The Predestination of Cal- 
vinists is, in my judgement, of the latter descrip- 
tion; the prescience of God, considered with 
reference to the free-agency of Man, is of the 
former description ; I therefore reject the one, 
and admit the other. It is our doty, in a great 
variety of cases, to believe what we do not com- 
prehend. We are called upon to exercise cau- 
tion and humility in judging of the mysterious 
dispensations of God, and of his incomprehensi- 
ble attributes, as a part of the trial to which we 
are subjected in this probationary state. The 
pride of the understanding, as well as the pride 
of the heart, is to be repressed. We are not to 
imagine that we have " searched out God," or 
that we comprehend the reasons and designs of 

all 

acknowledged both. And what Mr. Locke could not 
do, in reasoning upon subjects of a metaphysical nature, 
I am apt to think few men, if any, can hope to per- 
form." Lord Lytteliou's Letter to Mr. West. 



Qf Universal Redemption, [chap. iv% 

nil that " he doeth in the armies of heaven, and 
Unions; the inhabitants of the earth." " Such 
knowledge is too wonderful for us * we cannot 
attain unto it." 

I am aware that some persons, now living, who 
seem to glory in the name of Calvinists, maintain 
the doctrine of Election, and reject that of Repro^ 
bation. That this was not the system of Calvin 
himself, will fully appear by the quotations from 
his Works in the next Chapter. And that it was 
not the system of the Calvinists at the end of 
Queen Elizabeths reign, will be equally evident 
from the first of the Lambeth Articles, all of which 
will be there subjoined. It may perhaps be said, 
that it is unfair to attribute to any persons, sen* 
timents which they themselves disavow. But 
surely there is no want of candour in saying, that 
those who maintain the Calvinistie doctrine of 
Election, must also admit that of Reprobation, if 
it can be proved that Reprobation necessarily 
follows from Election ; and if pur adversaries 
confess that the doctrine of Reprobation is un- 
founded, it is strictly logical to shew, that the doc- 
trine of Election is also unfounded, by proving 
that Election cannot subsist without Reprobation, 
unless it could be shewn that those who are not 
predestinated to life eternal, may be. annihilated, 
of which there is no hint in Scripture. In every 

dispute 



chap, iv.] Election-, and Reprobation. 25.5 

dispute it is argued from premises upon which the 
parties are agreed, to those points about which 
they disagree ; and this seems to be the only mode 
by which error can be exposed, truth established, 
or conviction produced. H No medium," says 
Dr. Davenant, himself a distinguished Calvinist, 
and one of those who attended the Synod of Dort, 
" can be assigned, either on God's part, betwixt 
the decrees of predestinating some men, and not 
predestinating some others ; or on men's part, 
betwixt men absolutely predestinated to attain- 
ment of life eternal, and absolutely pretermitted, 
and left infallibly to fail of the obtainment of 
eternal life, which we call absolute Reprobation. 
As for example, let us suppose the number of 
mankind to be two millions of men; if out of 
these, one million only, by the decree of Election, 
be infallibly appointed to eternal life, and these 
certainly and absolutely distinguished from others, 
not only as to their number, but their persons 
also ; who can deny, but that one million also, 
and those certain as to their persons, are as abso- 
lutely comprized under the decree of N on -Elec- 
tion or Reprobation, as the others were under the 
decree of Election or Predestination." " So that, 
says Dr. Whitby, there is no possibility of assert- 
ing one of these decrees, without owning the other 

also ; 



25$ Of Universal Redemption*, [chap.it. 

also ; and sq whatsoever argument holds good 
against an absolute decree of Reprobation, must 
certainly destroy the opposite decree of absolute 
Election." If God of his own good pleasure 
elected certain persons exclusively to be eternally 
happy, by furnishing them; through his especial 
grace, with his own appointed means of Faith in 
the death of Christ, it is implied, that those means 
are denied to the rest of the human race, who are 
passed over and left to their own unassisted 
powers. This denial or pretention is in fact 
Reprobation ; for both Calvinists and ourselves 
believe, that ££ Man by his own natural strength 
and Good Works cannot turn to Faith," the only 
appointed mean of Salvation ; and that " the 
fault and corruption of every man that is naturally 
engendered of Adam, deserveth God's wrath and 
damnation (y)" which he is of himself unable to 
avert ; and consequently, in the words of the 4th 
Lambeth Article, " Those who are not predesti- 
nated to Salvation, shall be necessarily or inevita- 
bly damned for their sins." This was unquestion^ 
ably the doctrine of former Calvinists, who were 
fully sensible that Election and Reprobation are 
inseparably connected. If therefore Reprobation 
be unfounded, which some modern Calvinists 

allow, 

(y) Article the 9th. 



chap, iv.] Election) and Reprobation. 257 
allow, it follows, upon their own principles, that 
. Election also is unfounded, since the latter cannot 
exist without the former. 

It being contended that Reprobation is un- 
founded, because it is obviously inconsistent with, 
the mercy and goodness of God, it may be asked, 
Whether it be not also inconsistent with the mercy 
and goodness of God, to create men who he fore- 
saw would be hereafter miserable ? I answer, 
Certainly not, and for this plain reason ; because, 
according to the system which we maintain, God 
has enabled every man born into the world, to 
work out his own Salvation. Whoever therefore 
is finally unhappy, is unhappy through his own 
fault; and the mercy of God is fully vindicated by 
his giving to every individual of the human race 
the means of happiness. 

Theological writers, in arguing upon the pecu- 
liar opinions which they have formed, are ex- 
tremely apt to think it a sufficient defence of their 
system, if they can shew that it is compatible with 
some one of the divine perfections, although per- 
haps it may be utterly irreconcilable to other 
attributes of the Deity. Thus, the Calvinist, in 
maintaining the doctrine of partial Redemption, 
without any regard to merit or demerit in the 
objects of God's favour or rejection, triumphantly 
asks, u Had not the glorious Being who created 
' S the 



2 5 8 Of Universal Redemption, [c hap. i v. 

the universe, a right to create it for what purpose 
he pleased (z)V' It is not denied that God had a 
right, founded on the uncontrollable will of the 
Creator over his creatures, to consign the far 
greater part of men to eternal misery, and to 
bestow eternal happiness on a chosen few, although 
there was in themselves no ground whatever for 
such a distinction. It may safely be allowed, 

that 

(z) It seems to be forgotten by Calvinists, while 
they strenuously assert the doctrine of Predestination to 
eternal happiness or misery, as necessarily following 
from the belief in an Omnipotent Immutable Being, that 
the doctrine of conditional Salvation, for which we con- 
tend, must originate solely in the Will of God. This 
question is sometimes argued by our opponents as if we 
considered men as self-created independent beings, capa- 
ble of counteracting the designs of God. But are not 
the conditions of Salvation, of divine appointment ? Are 
not our powers of performing these conditions, divine 
gifts ? What have we that we have not received ? If a 
law be made, that death shall be the consequence of the 
commission of any particular crime — (theft, for example) 
is not a man who steals, as much sentenced to the pu- 
nishment of death, by a decree promulgated by absolute 
authority, as a slave condemned to die by the order of 
his master, without having done any thing worthy of 
death ? The slave had no means of escaping death. 
The thief, if he had not stolen, would not have been 
punished by the law. In one case, the death of the 
man proceeds from the will of a capricious tyrant ; in 
the other, from the transgression of a known law ; but 
this law originated In the will of the Sovereign* 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprohation. 259 
that God might have acted in this manner, had 
his only attribute been that of almighty power. . 
But the question is, whether such a conduct 
would have been consistent with infinite justice 
and infinite mercy, which every Christian acknow- 
ledges to be attributes of the Deity. Could a 
just and merciful God endow men with the 
admirable faculties of perception and reason, 
place them in a transitory world abounding with 
enjoyments and temptations, and, by an arbitrary 
and irreversible decree, deny them the means of 
escaping everlasting torment in a life to come ? 
This pernicious error, into which it must be 
allowed some pious persons have fallen, sufficiently 
proves, that in considering the divine economy, 
we ought ever to bear in mind the harmony which 
subsists between all the attributes of God, as the 
only way by which we can avoid opinions dero- 
gatory to his perfect nature. We know that the 
power of God is competent to every thing which 
contains not in it the idea of impossibility or 
contradiction. But because God was able to 
create man for this or that purpose, it does not 
follow that he actually has done so. We are to 
examine whether the purpose in question be 
reconcilable to his wisdom, his mercy, and his 
justice ; and if any inconsistency with these perfec- 
tions appears in any proposed system, we need 
s 2 . not 



260 Of Universal Redemption, [c&ap. iv. 

not hesitate to pronounce the system false and 
groundless. The known attributes of God, col- 
lectively taken, as they are declared in Scripture, 
and manifested in the works of Creation, can 
alone guide us to truth, in our disquisitions con- 
cerning his design in the formation of Man ; and 
the exclusive consideration of a single attribute, 
has been the common source of difference of opi- 
nion among the learned uDon this interesting sub- 
ject. Divines seem to argue concerning the 
Deity, from what they observe to take place 
among men. It is indeed true, that w r e too often 
see those whose lot it is to govern their fellow- 
creatures, exercise their power in utter contempt 
of every principle of justice and mercy : others 
we see studious only to act according to the rigid 
rules of justice, without attending to the calls of 
mercy : a few we may see yielding to the mo- 
mentary impulse of compassion, without regarding 
the claims of justice : and even the wisest and 
most conscientious of men are frequently at a loss 
to devise the means of acting in strict conformity 
both to the essential laws of justice, and to the 
milder dictates of mercy. All this necessarily 
belongs to the nature of a frail and imperfect 
being; but the Deity, whose ways are not as 
men's ways, is entirely free from every defect and 
limitation of this kind, With Him there is no 

opposition 



chap, iv.] Election, mid Reprobation. 261 

opposition, no clashing, no difficulty. His dis- 
pensations are the result of the concurrent opera- 
tion of his perfect attributes. The infinite wisdom 
of God contrived a scheme of Redemption which 
his infinite power enabled him to execute ; and 
this scheme is perfectly consistent with the best 
ideas our narrow capacities, aided by the light of 
Revelation, can form of infinite justice and infinite 
mercy. It vindicates the justice of God, by 
making every one who disobeys his laws, liable 
to death and punishment; and it is compatible 
with his mercy, inasmuch as it provides the 
means of avoiding the punishment due to wilful 
disobedience. This is not done by a capricious 
revocation of the sentence pronounced, by an 
unconditional offer of pardon, or by any weak or 
inadequate compromise. A full satisfaction and 
complete atonement' for the sins of the whole 
world are found in the precious blood of the eter- 
nal and only-begotten Son of God ; but even this 
sacrifice, inestimable as it is, and universal as it 
may be, does not necessarily procure Salvation for 
men ; much remains to be done by themselves, 
before they can have any share in the benefits of 
their Redeemer s death. Were it otherwise, the 
hardened sinner would be confounded with the 
humble penitent — there would be no distinction 
between those, a the imagination of whose heart* 
3 3 is 



262 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. 1 v. 

is only evil continually," and those whose " de- 
light is in the commandments of God." The 
depravity of our nature prevents uniform and 
perfect obedience ; and were even that attainable, 
it would give no claim to the reward of everlasting 
happiness. If there be sincerity of endeavour on 
our part, founded in a true and lively Faith, the 
gracious Father of the Universe is pleased, for the 
- sake and through the mediation of his Son, not 
only to overlook the deficiency of the perform- 
ance, but to grant an incorruptible crown of 
glory; and thus " eternal life is the free-gift of 
God through Jesus Christ." What a sublime 
idea does this scheme of Universal Redemption 
convey, of the goodness and of the wisdom of the 
Deity ! It is no less than the offer of everlasting 
happiness from the Creator to his fallen creatures, 
without any encouragement to their sins, or any 
violation of his own sacred laws. The disclosure 
and execution of this plan God reserved for his 
own appointed time ; but at no time has he left 
himself without a witness. The works of Crea- 
tion, and the law written upon men's hearts, 
always supplied a ground for Faith, and a rule 
for practice. At every period of the world, to fear 
God, and to work righteousness, have been dis- 
_ coverable and practicable duties. Men will be 
judged according to the light which has been 

afforded 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 263 

afforded them, by the dispensation under which 
they have lived, whether it shall have been the 
law of Nature, the law of Moses, or the law of 
the Gospel, all equally derived from the same 
divine Author. The virtuous Heathen, the obe- 
dient Jew, and the sincere Christian, will all owe 
their Salvation to the precious blood of the Lamb 
slain, from the foundation of the world. The 
degrees of happiness, as we are taught to believe, 
will vary ; but although they are ail eternal, and 
all flow from the same divine source, the faithful 
disciples of the blessed Jesus may humbly hope, 
that a peculiar inheritance is reserved in heaven 
for them, as " the prize of their high calling in 
Christ." 

Having thus shewn that Universal Redemp- 
tion is taught in Scripture, and that it is strictly 
conformable to the attributes of the Deity ; and 
having shewn that the Calvinistic doctrines of 
Election and Reprobation have no foundation in 
the written word of God, and are inconsistent with 
the Divine perfections ; I shall now proceed to 
prove, that Universal Redemption is also the 
doctrine of our Church. 

The 39 Articles contain not a single expression, 
which can be considered as limiting the Redemp- 
tion purchased by the blood of Christ. They 
s 4 . mention 



264 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 
mention the effects of Christ's death only three 
times: in the second Article it is said, "Christ 
suffered, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a 
sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for 
actual sins of men original guilt belongs to all 
men, and therefore the actual sins of all men 
must likewise be understood : and consequently, 
according to this Article, Christ died, to be a sacri- 
fice for the sins of the whole human race. In the 
15th Article, it is said, " Christ came to be the 
Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself 
once made, should take away the sins of the 
world an expression taken from the New Testa- 
ment, and too comprehensive to be adopted by 
those who meant to assert the doctrine of partial 
Redemption. And in the 31st Article the doc* 
trine of Universal Redemption is plainly and 
unequivocally asserted, " The offering of Christ 
once made, is that perfect Redemption, propitia- 
tion, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole 
world, both original and actual :" Words cannot 
be more comprehensive than those which are 
here used, <c all the sins of the whole world, both 
original and actual/' — every sin, of every sort, of 
every human being. Can then any one, after 
reading these words, contend, that it is consistent 
with our Articles, to maintain that Christ died for 
the sins of only a part of the world, and that it is 

absolutely 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 265 

absolutely impossible for the rest of mankind to 
attain Salvation, through the merits of his death ? 

The 17th Article is entitled, " of Predestina- 
tion and Election," and it begins with a definition 
of Predestination ; **■ Predestination to lite ( a) is 
the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before 
the foundations of the world were laid) he hath 
constantly decreed by his counsel, secret to us, 
to deliver from curse and damnation those whom 
he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to 
bring them by Christ to everlasting Salvation, as 
vessels made to honour " Predestination to 
life" is here declared to be the eternal purpose of 
God, to deliver from curse and damnation, and to 
bring to everlasting Salvation — But who are to be 
thus delivered and saved? " Those whom God 

hath 

(a) Predestination is always used in Scripture in a 
good sense ; no persons are said to be predestinated to 
death, or to punishment, or to unbelief. Nefas est dicere 
Deum aliquid nisi bonum praedestinare. Aug. de Prasd. 
cap. 2.— Even the authors of the Centuriae Magdebur- 
genses, who were Calvinists, say, Quoties Apostoli verbo 
Praedestinationis utuntur (St. Paul is the only Apostle 
who does use it) nihil aliud eo indicant, quam ut inqui- 
rentem causas cur ad Salutem asternam consequendam 
nulla alia sit via, quam ea quae a Christo est nobis parata, 
docent sic Deo in arcano suo consilio, quo voluit miseriis 
generis humani mederi, placuisse, eumque ut eo modo 
fierit ordinasse, et velle ut a se praescriptum ad Salutem, 
compendium agnoscamus et apprehendamus.— Cent. 
Magd. Cent. j. lib. 2. cap. 4. p. 238. 



266 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 

hath chosen in Christ out of mankind," that is, 
those to whom God decreed to make known the 
Gospel of Christ. And are all to whom the 
Gospel is made known, predestinated to life? 
No ; to prevent this conclusion, the Article pro- 
ceeds to describe those who are. " endued with 
so excellent a benefit of God." in these words, 
" They be called according to God's purpose, by 
his Spirit working in due season : they through 
Grace obey the calling : they be justified freely : 
they be made sons of God by adoption : they be 
made like the image of his only-begotten Son 
Jesus Christ : they walk religiously in Good 
Works ; and at length by God's mercy they attain 
to everlasting felicity," that is, they on their part 
conform to the conditions of the Gospel Covenant, 
by obeying the calling, and walking religiously in 
Good Works, .under the influence and assistance 
of the Holy Spirit ; and, as a reward, they are 
justified in this world, are made sons of God by 
adoption, are made like the image of Christ, and 
at length attain everlasting felicity. Predestina- 
tion to life therefore is not an absolute decree of 
eternal happiness to certain individuals, but a 
gracious purpose of God, to make a conditional 
offer of Salvation to men, through the merits of 
Christ. This " godly consideration of Predesti- 
nation, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, 

pleasant, 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 267 
pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly per- 
sons/' because, from a consciousness of their own 
obedience and religious walking in Good Works, 
f 6 their Faith of eternal Salvation is greatly esta- 
blished and confirmed/' and they are supported 
under all the distresses and calamities of this 
mortal life, by looking forward to the prize of 
their high calling in Christ. Such are the Pre- 
destination and Election which our Church main- 
tains, and recommends to its members as replete 
with comfort/ But in the same Article it tells 
us, that " for curious and carnal persons, lacking 
the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before 
their eyes the sentence of God's Predestination, is 
a most dangerous downfall, whereby the devil 
doth thrust them either into desperation, or into 
wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less peri- 
lous than desperation." What is this sentence 
of God's Predestination ? It cannot be the sen- 
tence of Predestination we have been considering, 
by which God purposed and decreed to save all 
who shall believe and obey the Gospel : this 
merciful and consolatory doctrine cannot be the 
suggestion of the great enemy of mankind; it 
cannot drive men to " desperation," because it 
says to every one, Repent, and you shall be saved ; 
it cannot lead men to " wretchlessness of most 
unclean living/' because it says, that without 

Good 



368 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 

Good Works no man can be saved ; and a real 
u everlasting purpose of God" cannot be a " dan- 
gerous downfall" to any part of his rational crea- 
tures. Where then are we to find this supposed 
" sentence of Gods Predestination," which is 
attended with so much mischief and danger ? — In 
the works of Calvin. — We there read, Praedestina- 
tionem vocamus asternum Dei decretum, quo apud 
se eonstitutum habuit, quid de unoquoque nomine 
fieri vellet. Non enim pari conditione creantur 
oinnes; sed aliis vita aeterna, aliis damnatio aeterna, 
praeordinatur . . . Quod ergo Scriptura clare osten- 
dit dicimus, aeterno et immutabili consilio Deum 
semel constituisse quos olim semel assumere vellet 
in Salutem, quos rursum exitio devovere. Hoc 
consilium quoad electos in gratuita ejus misericor- 
dia fundatuin esse asserimus, nullo humanae digni- 
tatis respectu : quos vero damnationi addicit, his 
justo quidem, et irreprehensibili, sed incompre- 
hensibili ipsius judicio, vitae aditum prascludifZ»^. 

Here 

(b) "Predestination we call the eternal decree of 
God, by which he has determined with himself, what lie 
willed to be done concerning every man. For all men 
are not created in an equal condition, but eternal life is 
pre-ordained to some, eternal damnation to others . . . 
That therefore which the Scripture clearly shews, we 
affirm, that God, by an eternal and immutable counsel, 
once appointed those whom he should hereafter will to 
take into Salvation, those moreover whom he should 

will 



chap* iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 2(h) 

Here it is maintained, that God has eternally fixed 
the future destiny of every individual of the 
human race ; that he has irrevocably decreed to 
bestow everlasting happiness upon some, and to 
consign others to eternal misery, without any 
regard to their merit or demerit. Those who 
believe this doctrine, who have this sentence con- 
tinually before their eyes, will either be in danger 
of failing into despair, from a conviction that it is 
impossible for them to be saved, that they must 
inevitably suffer everlasting torment ; or they will 
be apt to practise every vice to which they feel 
any temptation, from a persuasion that they 
belong to the chosen few, who must necessarily 
be saved, whatever may be their conduct. It 
appears, then, that the Calvimstic doctrines of 
Election and Reprobation are not only wt main- 
tained in this Article, but that they are disclaimed 
and condemned in the strongest terms. 

With respect to our Liturgy, the passage in the 
Absolution, that God " desireth not the death of 
a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his 

wickedness 

■will to devote to destruction. We assert, that this 
counsel with respect to the elect was founded in his 
gratuitous mercy, without any respect to human worth ; 
but that the approach to life is precluded to those whom 
he assigns to damnation by his, just indeed and irre- 
prehcnsible, but imcomprehensible 5 judgement/'— Inst, 
lib. 3. cap. at. sect. 5. & 7. 



270 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, iv. 

wickedness and live/' and the beginning of the 
third Collect for Good Friday, " O merciful 
God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing 
that thou hast made, nor wouldest the death of 
a sinner, but rather that he should be converted 
and live,"' are perfectly inconsistent with the idea 
of partial Redemption, and clearly imply, that 
God has afforded to every man the means of 
working out his Salvation. 

In the Prayer of Consecration, in the Commu- 
nion Service, it is said, that "Christ, by one 
oblation of himself once offered, made a full, 
perfect, and sufficient ^sacrifice, oblation, and 
satisfaction for the sins of the whole world ;" and 
in delivering the elements, the Minister declares, 
that the body of Christ was given, and his blood 
shed, for every communicant ; he prays for the 
Salvation of every communicant separately; and 
he calls upon every communicant to eat the bread 
and drink the wine, the symbolical representations 
of Christ's body and blood, in remembrance that 
Christ died, and that his blood was shed, for him. 
Is it not then the principle of our Church, that 
Christ by his death purchased the Redemption 
of every one of its members; and can this prin- 
ciple be reconciled with the Caivinistic tenets of 
Election and Reprobation? 

In the Formo f Public Baptism of Infants, the 
i Minister 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 271 

Minister prays, in the beginning of the service, 
that the child " may he received into the ark of 
Christ's Church," u that he may come to the 
land of everlasting life, there to reign with God 
world without end," and " that he may come to 
the .eternal kingdom, which God has promised by 
Christ our Lord and consequently our Church 
supposes that every child brought to be baptized, 
is capable of attaining eternal Salvation. The 
Minister afterwards prays, that " this child now 
to be baptized, may receive the fulness of God's 
grace, and ever remain in the number of God's 
faithful and elect children :" This Prayer evidently 
shews, that our Church considers Baptism as 
placing every child in the number of God's 
elect, and that this Election does not imply a 
certainty of Salvation. Every baptized child, 
says our Church, is an elect person, may or may 
not continue an elect person, and may or may 
not be saved. Can anv assertions be more 
opposite to the fundamental principle of Cal- 
vinism? After the baptismal words are pro- 
nounced, the child is declared to be ci made 
partaker of the death of Christ/' and consequently 
the Redemption purchased by Christ, according 
to our Church, extends to every person received 
into his holy religion by Baptism. And, at the 
end of the Service, our Church declares, without 

making 



272 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, iv* 

making any exception, " It is certain, by God's 
word, that children, which are baptized, dying 
before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly 
Saved." 

There is also a passage in our Catechism decisive 
upon the point in question, that the Compilers of 
our Liturgy intended to inculcate the doctrine 
of Universal Redemption. After the Creed is 
rehearsed, follow this Question and Answer, 
" What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles 
of thy Belief ? — First, I learn to believe in God the 
Father, who hath made me, and all the world; 
secondly, in God the Son, who hath redeemed 
me, and all mankind ; thirdly, in God the Holy 
Ghost, who sanctifleth me, and all the elect 
people of God." In the first part of this answer* 
the Father is said to have made all the world; — > 
all things, animate and inanimate, visible and in- 
visible: in the second part, Christ is said to have 
redeemed all mankind, — that is, the whole human 
species : in the third part, the Holy Ghost is 
said to sanctify all the elect people of God,— that 
is, as we have just seen, all who are admitted into 
the Church of Christ by the appointed Form of 
Baptism. The three expressions applied re- 
spectively to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, are " all the world," " all mankind," 
" all the elect" " All the world" comprehends 

the 



£Hkfl if.] Election, and Reprobation. $f§ 

the whole Creation ; c< all mankind" ivS less exten- 
sive, and includes only the rational part of the 
world ; " all the elect" is again more confined, 
and includes only that p unkind who are' 

members of the Church of Christ The ex- 
pression; that Christ " redeemed all mankind," is 
of itself sufficiently clear ; but wheri put in contra- 
distinction to the elect, whom the Holy Ghost 
sanctifies, it seems impossible to doubt its mean- 
ing; it can signify only, chat Christ died to pro* 
cure Redemption for the whole human race, to 
enable every individual descendant of Adam to 
attain eternal happiness, although it has pleased 
God, in the unsearchable counsels of his wisdom, 
to bestow upon a peculiar people, chosen in 
Christ, the sanctifying influence of his Holy 
Spirit. This passage of our Catechism proves 
incontrovertibly that our Church is not Calvinistic. 
The Calvinist maintains, that Christ redeemed 
only the elect, meaning only a small portion of 
Christians ; but every member of our Church is 
taught, before he takes upon himself his bap- 
tismal vow, that " Christ redeemed all mankind." 
The Calvinist sa\s, I believe in God the Son, 
who hath redeemed me and the elect people of 
God : our Catechumen says, ei I believe in God 
the Son, who hath redeemed me and all mankind " 
These two propositions cannot be reconciled, 

T since 



374 Of Universal Redemption, [chap, nr.* 
since u the elect people of God " must be only & 
part of u all mankind." 

It only remains that I quote some passages 
from the Homilies, to shew that they also in- 
culcate the doctrine of Universal Redemption,, 
and that they -consider all Christians as the elect 
people of God, and capable of attaining Sal- 
vation. 

The Homily " concerning the Nativity and 
Birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ," after speaking 
of the Fall, says, " Behold the great goodness and 
tender mercy of God in his behalf : albeit man's 
wickedness and sinful behaviour was such, that it 
deserved not in any part to be forgiven ; yet to 
the intent he might not be clean destitute of all 
hope and comfort in time to come, he ordained 
a new covenant, and made a sure promise 
thereof, namely, that he would send a Messias or 
Mediator into the world, which should make 
intercession, and put himself as a stay between 
both parties, to pacify the wrath and indignation 
conceived against sin, and to deliver man out of 
the miserable curse and cursed misery, whereinto 
he was fallen headlong by disobeying the wilt 
and commandment of the Gnly Lord and Maker. . . 
When the fulness of time was come . . . God, 
according to his former covenant and promise, 
sent a Messias, otherwise called a Mediator, into 
6 to* 



CHAP* iv*] Election, and Reprobation. 275 
the world, not such a one as Moses was, not 
such a one as Joshua, Saul, or David was, but 
such a one as should deliver mankind from the 
bitter curse of the Law, and make perfect satis- 
faction by his death for the sins of all people ; 
namely, he sent his dear and only Son Jesus 
Christ, born (as the Apostle saith) of a woman, 
and made under the Law, that he might redeem 
them that were in bondage of the Law, and make 
them the children of God by adoption . . . After 
he was once come down from heaven, and had 
taken our frail nature upon him, he made all them 
that would receive him truly, and believe his 
word, good trees, and good ground, fruitful and 
pleasant branches, children of light, citizens of 
heaven, sheep of his fold, members of his bod}^ 
heirs of his kingdom, his true friends and brethren, 
sweet and lively bread, the elect and chosen 
people of God. For as St. Peter saith in bis 
first Epistle, and second Chapter, He bare our sins 
in his body on the cross ; he healed us, and made 
us whole by his stripes : and whereas before we 
were sheep going astray, lie by his coming brought 
us home again to the true x Shepherd and Bishop of 
our souls, making us a chosen generation, a royal 
priesthood, a holy nation, a particular people of 
God, in that he died for our offences, and ros© 
for our justification . . . The end of his coming 

t 2 was 



2 7' 6 Of Universal Hedemptibn, [chat, ttt 

•was to save and deliver his people, to fulfil the 
law for us, to give light unto the world, to call 
sinners to repentance, to refresh them that labour 
and be heavy laden ; last of all, to become a 
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only r 
but also for the sins of the whole world." 

In the Homily for Good Friday, it is said, 
" Christ was obedient even to the very death, the 
death of the cross. And this he did for us all 
that believe in him ... Power is given to us, to 
be the children of God, so many as believe in 
Christ's name ... So pleasant was this sacrifice 
and oblation of his Son's death, which he so 
obediently and innocently suffered, that he would 
take it for the only and full amends for all the 
sins of the world . . . No tongue surely is able to 
express the worthiness of this so precious a 
death. For in this stand eth the continual pardoir 
of our daily offences, in this resteth our jus- 
tification, in this we be allowed, in this is pur- 
chased the everlasting health of all our souls . . . 
That we may the better conceive the great mercy 
and goodness of our Saviour Christ, in suffering 
death universally for all men, it behoveth us to 
descend into the bottom of our conscience . . . 
Was not this a sure pledge of God's love, to give us* 
his own Son from heaven ?.."'. But to whom did he 
give hkn ? He gave him to the whole v, odd ; that 

k 



^li AP. iv."] Election, and Reprobation. 277 

ris to say, to Adam, and all that should come 
.-after him . . . The death of Christ shall stand us 
Tin no force, unless we apply it to ourselves in 
■such sort as God hath appointed, Almighty God 
•commonly worketh by means, and in this thing 
he hath also ordained a certain mean, whereby 
we may take fruit and profit to our soul's health. 
What mean is that ? ForsGOth it is faith ... By 
stjiis then you may well perceive, that the only 
mean and instrument of salvation required of our 
( parts is faith ; that is to say, a sure trust and 
^confidence in the mercies of God ; whereby we 
.persuade ourselves, that God both hath, and will 
forgive our sins, that he hath accepted us again 
into his favour, that he hath released us from the 
bonds of damnation, and received us again into 
tthe number of his elect people, not for our merits 
.or deserts, but only and solely for the merits of 
Christ's death and passion, who became man for 
our sakes, and humbled himself to sustain the 
reproach of the cross, that we thereby might be 
saved, and made inheritors of the kingdom of 
.heaven. This faith is required at our hands. 
And this if we keep stedfastly in our hearts, there 
is no doubt but we shall obtain salvation at God's 
.hands, as did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of 
whom the Scripture saith, that they believed, and 
it was imputed unto them for .righteousness. 

t 3 . Was 



27 S Of Universal Redemption, [chap, i v. 
Was it imputed u*ito them only ? And shall it 
not be imputed unto us also ? Yes, if we have the 
same faith as they had, it shall be as truly imputed 
unto us for righteousness, as it was unto them. 
For it is one faith that must save both us and 
them, even a sure and steadfast faith in Christ 
Jesus ; w ho, as ye have heard, came into the 
world for this end, that whosoever believe in him 
should not perish, but have life everlasting." In 
the following Homily, " Of the Resurrection x of 
our Saviour Jesus Christ," the nature of this 
saving faith is thus explained, " Let thy repent- 
ance shew thy faith, let thy purpose of amend- 
ment and obedience of thy heart to God's law, 
hereafter declare thy true belief . . . Let us now 
in the rest of our life declare our faith that we 
have in this most fruitful article, by framing our- 
selves thereunto, in rising daily from sin to right- 
eousness and holiness of life ... As you have 
hitherto followed the vain lusts of your minds, 
and so displeased God to the danger of your 
souls ; so now, like obedient children thus purified 
by faith, give yourselves to walk that way which 
God moveth you to, that ye may receive the end 
of your faith, the salvation of your souls ... Ye 
must consider that ye be therefore cleansed and 
renewed, that ye should from henceforth serve 
God in holiness and righteousness all the days of 

your 



chap, iv.] Election) and Reprobation. 279 

vour lives, that ye mav rei^n with him in ever- 
lasting life." 

In the Homily, " Of the worthy receiving and 
reverent esteeming of the Sacrament of the Body 
and Blood of Christ/' it is said, " Now it foiioweth 
to have with this knowledge a sure and constant 
faith, not only that the death of Christ is available 
for the redemption of ail the world, for the 
remission of sins, and reconciliation with God the 
Fatlier; but also that he hath made upon his 
cross a lull and sufficient sacrifice for thee, a 
perfect cleansing of thy sins, so that thou acknow- 
ledged no other Saviour, Redeemer, Mediator, 
Advocate, Intercessor, but Christ only; and that 
thou mayest say with the Apostle, that he loved 
thee, and gave himself for thee." 

Ix the foregoing explanation of the doctrines of 
Original Sin, Free- Will, the Operation of the 
Holy Spirit, Regeneration, Justification, Faith> 
Good Works, Universal Redemption, Predes- 
tination, Election, and Reprobation, it has been 
shewn, that there is a strict conformity be- 
tween Scripture and the Public Formularies of 
our Church, upon all these important points, and 
that the peculiar opinions of Calvin are not 
founded in the written word of God, or recon- 
cilable with our Articles, Liturgy, and Homilies. 

t 4 Whoever 



28o Of Universal Redemption, [ch ,\r. im 
Whoever compares the doctrines of the Chu rch 
of England with the doctrines of the various 
Sects of Christians which now prevail, or have 
formerly prevailed, will see abundant reason to 
admire the wisdom and moderation of these 
excellent men, to whom, under Divine Pro* 
violence, we owe our pure Establishment. It 
will be found that in every case they have avoided 
those mistakes and improprieties into which 
many Protestant Churches and Sects unhappily 
fell. It has been observed, that there are 
Christians who assert that Adam's nature was 
not corrupted by the Fall, and who admit no 
degree of moral incapacity in the present race of 
men; and that, on the contrary, there are others, 
who assert that the sin of Adam produced so com- 
plete a change in his own nature, and in that of 
all his posterity, that God's rational creatures, 
who were made but a little lower than the Angels, 
are now a mere mass of corruption and wicked- 
ness, susceptible of no amendment or correction 
from their own voluntary efforts. But the Church 
of England, keeping clear of both extremes, 
declares, that the nature of Adam was greatly 
impaired and corrupted by his transgression of 
the divine command, and that he transmitted this 
weak and depraved nature to every individual of 
Jiis descendants * but it does not say that the 

mora} 



chap, iv.] Election, and Reprobation. 281 
moral powers of men are entirely destroyed, or 
_that their corrupt dispositions are totally in- 
corrigible ; it allows the perverseness of the will, 
and the violence of the passions, but it does not 
discourage every laudable and virtuous exertion, 
by representing men as utterly incapable of check- 
ing their inclination to evil, or of putting any 
degree of restraint upon their sinful lusts. Again, 
one set of Christians denies all influence whatever 
of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, and 
another considers it as constant, sensible, and 
irresistible ; but the Church of England, while it 
acknowledges the influence of the Holy Spirit, 
contends, that the grace of God may be given in 
yain; that it does indeed co-operate with the 
good desires of men, and strengthen their pious 
resolutions, but not in a manner which may be 
perceived, or in a degree which cannot be with- 
stood. One set of Christians will not admit that 
there is any atonement whatever for the sins of 
men in the death of Christ; a second contends, 
that in consequence of Christ's sufferings upon 
the cross, all mankind will ultimately be saved ; 
and a third, that Christ died exclusively for a 
certain and determinate number of persons, who 
must necessarily be saved : but the Church of 
England vindicates the holiness, the justice, and 
(he mercy of God, and at the same time guards 

* equally 



$82 Of Universal Redemption, [chap. iv. 

- equally against the despair and the presumption 
of its members, by maintaining, that Christ 
suffered to make satisfaction for the sins of the 
whole world in this sense, that whoever at the 
great day of final account shall be found to have 
lived conformably to the will of God according to 
the light afforded them, will be rewarded with 
eternal happiness through the merits of the 
Blessed Jesus, and that the rest of mankind will 
be consigned to everlasting punishment. Lastly, 
one set of Christians relies so confidently upon 
the merit of attention to the outward acts of reli- 
gion, that they are very apt to omit the cultivation 
of purity of mind and -singleness of heart ; and 
another ascribes so much to the efficacy of faith, 
that they too often become negligent of the moral 
duties ; but the Church of England pronounces, 
that a regard to the external forms must be accom- 
panied by an internal sense of religion ; and while 
it maintains the indispensable necessity of faith, 
it declares that no faith will be effectual to salvation, 
which does not produce a virtuous and hoi} 7 life. 
Thus does our Church reject all those u erroneous 
and strange doctrines'' which lead to scepticism, 
impiety, enthusiasm, superstition, immorality, hy* 
pocrisy, despondency, and spiritual pride; and 
inculcate the true and genuine principles of the 
Gospel, pious gratitude, fervent devotion, un- 
affected 



chap, iv.] Election, omd Reprobation* 283 
affected humility, godly sincerity, lively faith, 
cheerful hope, active benevolence, uniform in- 
tegrity, and habitual virtue. 

The preservation of this most pure and reformed 
part of the Christian Church, must ever, under 
the blessing of God, greatly depend upon the 
exertions of the Parochial Clergy. Not many 
years since, they were called upon to resist the 
open attacks of Infidelity and Atheism ; and at 
present they have to contend with the more secret, 
but not less dangerous, attempts of Schism and 
Enthusiasm ( c). Our enemies have of late suc- 
ceeded but too well in seducing large numbers 
from communion with the Established Church. 
Their zeal in making proselytes is unremitted ; 
and the proud and selfish nature of man falls an 
easy victim to the fascinating doctrines of election 
and grace. I do not however deny that these 
doctrines have been adopted and maintained by 
some persons eminent for their learning and in 
high stations in the Church ; but I think that the 
adoption of these opinions may in general be 

traced, 

(c) <c In tracing the coherence among the systems of 
modern theology, we may observe that the doctrine of 
absolute decrees has ever been intimately connected 
with the enthusiastic spirit ; as that doctrine affords the 
highest subject of joy, triumph, and security to the elect, 
gnd exalts them by infinite degrees above the rest of 
mankind.'' Hume. 



$S4 Qf * Universal Redernpfim, [ch a p. it. 
traced, in writers of an early period, to the ab- 
horrence of the impious doctrine of human merit, 
■which, it has been frequently observed, was one 
•of the chief points of controversy with the church 
of Rome, rather than to their unbiassed judgement 
-of the sense of Scripture. I &m most ready to 
Allow that many Caivinists have been pious and 
excellent men ; and I am fully satisfied that there 
are in these days zealous Christians of that per- 
suasion, who would be among the first to deplore 
any evil which might befal our Constitution m 
Church or State. But I contend,. that Calvinism 
is a system peculiarly liable to abuse. The per- 
version of its ' tenets has in former times been 
made, by wicked and designing men, the instru- 
ment of great mischief; .and I fear that at the 
present moment the interests of real Christianity 
suffer not a little, and that the Established 
-Church is in no small danger, from the active hos- 
tility of those who profess Calvinistic doctrines. 
Let the Parochial Clergy, by persevering zeal, 
combined with knowledge, and tempered by 
charity, be instant in their endeavours to heal the 
divisions which rend the Church of Christ. Let 
them labour to understand and set forth the Gos- 
,pel in its original purity ; not by dwelling on a 
few detached passages, which have been, and 
eyer will be, the subjects of controversy, when 

considered 



en a p. i V .] Election, and Reprobation. i 85 

considered without reference to the general tenor 
of Scripture, or the peculiar circumstances and 
©pinions to which they allude ; but, guided by the 
light afforded them by our truly venerable Reform- 
ers in the Articles, the Liturgy, and the Homilies 
©f our Church, let them t-.ike a- comprehensive 
view of the whole of Scripture, and, ( f rightly 
dividing the word of- truth," let them explain its 
doctrines and enforce its precepts in a manner 
consistent with the general design of Christianity, 
and the known attributes of God. Let them,, 
while they exhort men to remember that Schism is 
not become the less criminal from its being more 
common, exert themselves to check its progress, 
by a diligent discharge of the various duties be- 
longing; to their several stations; and conform - 
ably with that spirit of forbearance, by which our 
Church is so especially distinguished, and which 
so clearly appears in the Declaration prefixed to 
our Articles, let not those, who are of one mind 
respecting the fundamental principles of our 
faith, suffer " differences upon certain curious 
points" to break the bonds of peace and unity so 
necessary, in this hour of common danger, for the 
preservation of true religion in these dominions. 
Thus by temperate zea!, sound knowledge, per- 
severing diligence, and fervent charity, they will 
{jest evince themselves genuine members of a 

Church 



286 Of 'Universal Redemption, §c. [chap. IV- 
Church, founded upon Apostolical Authority. 
Thus, " shewing their faith by their works," 
according to an Apostle s injunction, they will most 
effectually reprove gainsay ers, recal wanderers, 
and prepare themselves, fC in this day of trial 
which is come upon all the earth," to give account 
of their stewardship when summoned before 
their Jud^e* 



[ 28 7 1 



CHAPTER TITE FIFTH. 



QUOTATIONS 

FROM TIIE ANTIENT FATHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, FOR THE 
PURPOSE OF PROVING THAT THEY MAINTAINED 
DOCTRINES IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO THE PECULIAR 
TENETS OF CALVINISM. 



IGNATIUS, A CONTEMPORARY OF THE APOSTLES* 
Coteleriu/s Edition — a.d. 1724. 

a f^\$ all which, nothing is hidden from you, if 
^7 you have faith perfectly towards Jesus 
Christ, and charity, which are the beginning and 
the end of life. Faith is the beginning, charity the 
end. These two formed into one are of God. 
But all other things which relate to a holy life 
are consequences of these things, No one pro- 
fessing (i7rayyzX\c[j,evo<;) faith is guilty of sin ; 
and no one ' who possesses love is guilty of 
hatred. The tree is made manifest by its fruit : 
so those who profess themselves Christians shall 
be discerned by their actions. For it is not now 
a work of profession, but in the power of faith, 
if a man be found, unto the end,' ; (lav t*s su^etta dg 
reAcj.) Vol 2. p. 15. 

" I do 



2S8 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. V* 

u I do not speak of two natures of men, but that 
the one man is sometimes of God, sometimes of 
the devil. If any one he pious, he is a man of 
God ; but if any one be impious, he is a man of 
the devil, being made so, not by nature, but by 
his own will. 1 " Vol. 2. p. 55. 

CLEMENT OF "ROME, A CONTEMPORARY OF THE APOSTLES 
Cotcleriuss Edition — a. d. 1724. 

" Let us look steadfastly at the blood of Christ, 
and see how precious his blood is in the sight of 
God; which' being shed for our salvation, has 
obtained the grace of repentance for all the world. 
Let us search into all ages, and learn that our 
Lord has in every one of them given opportunity 
for repentance to all such as were willing to turn 
unto him." Vol. 1. p. 152. ^ 

The history of Rahab, who was directed by 
the spies to bind a line of scarlet thread upon the 
windows of her house, as a sign for the Israelites 
to spare it and all those who were within, is con- 
sidered by Clement of Rome and many others of 
the early Fathers, as shewing Ci that through the 
blood of the Lord, there will be redemption to 
all who believe and hope in God." Vol. 1. p. 155, 
and note. 

" Let us then hold fast to those to whom grace 

is 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 289 

is given by God. Let us put on concord, being 
Humble, temperate, abstaining from all whisper- 
ing and detraction, justified by actions and not 
by words . . . Let us then hold fast to the bless- 
ing of God, and consider what are the ways of 
the blessing ; let us examine those things which 
have happened from the beginning. For what 
was our Father Abraham blessed ? Was it not 
because through faith he wrought righteousness 
and truth? Isaac, knowing with confidence what 
was to come, cheerfully submitted to be a sacri- 
fice. Jacob, with humility departed out of his 
own country, flying from his brother, and went 
£0 Laban, and served him, $nd the sceptre of 
the twelve tribes of Israel wa§ given to him .... 
They were therefore all glorified and magnified, 
not for their own sake, or for their works, the 
righteousness which they had wrought, but through 
his will. And we therefore being called by his 
will, in Christ Jesus, are justified, not by our- 
selves, or by our own wisdom, or knowledge, or 
piety, or the works which we have wrought in 
holiness of heart, but by the faith by which Al- 
mighty God has justified all men from the begin- 
ning, to whom be glory for ever and ever ; Amen. 
What then shall we do, brethren ? Shall we 
cease from good works, and lay aside charity? 
God forbid that this should take place in us • but 

U let 



$go Quotations from the Fathers-* [chap* r» 
let us hasten with cheerfulness and alacrity ta 
perform every good work . . . Let us observe that 
all just men were adorned with good works, And 
even the Lord himself, having adorned himself 
with works, rejoiced. Having therefore his ex- 
ample, let us fulfil his will ; let us work the work 
of righteousness with all our strength. We must 
therefore be ready in well doing : for from thenco 
all things are derived. For he foretells to us, 
behold the Lord cometh, and his reward is be- 
fore his face, to render to every one according ta 
his work, He warns us therefore beforehand 
with all his heart for this purpose, that we should 
not be slothful or negligent in well-doing.*'' Vol. i\ 
p. 165, &c. 

JUSTIN MARTYR— A. D. 140. 
Thirlhys Edition.^*- a. d. 172a, 

£c We are persuaded that God does not stand 
in need of the material offerings of men, seeing 
that he is himself the giver of all things ; but we 
have been taught, and know, and believe, tha£ 
he accepts those only who imitate his own good 
qualities, temperance, justice, and benevolence, 
and the other attributes of God, to whom we give 
no epithet. And as we have been taught that 
he, being good, formed every thing out of shape-* 
tegs matter for the sake of men, whom we are 
10 assured 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism* 29! 

assured he would have thought worthy of hia 
society, to reign with him free from corruption 
and suffering, if by their actions they had shewn 
themselves worthy of his determination. For as 
in the beginning he created them out of nothing, 
in the same manner we think that he would have 
blessed them with immortality, and his own so- 
ciety, as a reward for choosing what was pleasing 
to him* For our original existence was not owing 
to ourselves; but to follow those things which 
are pleasing to him, through the powers of rea- 
son with which he has endowed us, this persuades 
us and leads us to faith . . . We maintain that no 
wicked or covetous person, no traitor, no virtuous 
person can escape God ; and that every one will 
go into everlasting punishment or salvation, ac- 
cording to the merit of his actions." — p. 14. 

" God foreknows some who would be saved 
by repentance, and some, perhaps, who are not 
yet born." — -p. 46. 

" But lest any one should imagine that I am 
asserting that things happen according to the ne- 
cessity of fate, because I have said that things 
are foreknown, I proceed to refute that opinion 
also. That punishments and chastisements and 
good rewards are given according to the worth of 
the actions of every one, having learnt it from 
the Prophets, we declare to be true ; since if it 
v 2 were 



$g'2 Quotations from the Father s> [chap. 

were not so, but all things happen according to 
fate, nothing would be in our own power ; for if 
it were decreed by fate that one should be good 
and another bad, no praise w ould be due to the 
former, or blame to the latter. And, again, if 
mankind had not the power, by free-will, to avoid 
what is disgraceful and to choose what is good, 
they would not be responsible for their actions. 
But that man does what is right, and what is 
wrong, by his own free choice, w r e thus prove : 
we see the same person passing from one thing to 
that w T hich is contrary to it ; but if it were fated 
that he should be either bad or good, he would 
not be capable of doing contrary things, or so 
often change ; but neither would some be good 
and others bad, since we should so declare fate 
to be the cause of bad things, and to act contrary 
to itself. Or that which was before mentioned 
would appear to be true, that neither virtue nor 
vice is in reality any thing, but is only imagined 
to be good or bad ; which in truth is the highest 
impiety and injustice. But we say that there is 
this immutable fate, namely, to those who choose 
what is good, a worthy reward; to those who 
choose the contrary, a worthy punishment. For 
God has not -created man like other things, as 
trees, and four-footed beasts, incapable of acting 
choice; for then he could not deserve reward 

or 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 293 
or praise, not having chosen good of himself, but 
being made so; nor if he were bad, would he 
deserve punishment, not being such of himself, 
but unable to be any thing except that which he 
was made. This the holy prophetic Spirit has 
taught us by Moses, declaring that God said to 
the first-created man, Behold before thy face 
good and evil, choose the good. And again by 
Esaias, another Prophet, as from the Father of 
all and the Lord God, ' Wash ye, make ye clean ; 
put away the evil of your doings from before mine 
eyes ; cease to do evil, learn to do well ; seek 
judgement, relieve the oppressed, judge the father- 
less, plead for the widow. Come now, and let 
us reason together, saith the Lord : though your 
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat 
the good of the land. Bnt if ye refuse and rebel, 
ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the 
mouth of the Lord. hath spoken itfdj.' Where- 
fore Plato borrowed the sentence, 6 the blame is 
in him who chooses; but God is free from 
blame fej,' from the Prophet Moses : for Moses 
was prior to any of the Greek writers. And 
every thing which both philosophers and poets 
have said concerning the immortality of the soul, 

or 

(d) Is. c. I. v. 16, &c, (f) Atria ifajulvs, Seqs & avamo$* 

u 3 



2g4 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v, 

or punishment after death, or the contemplation 
of heavenly things, they might have understood 
or related from the Prophets. Whence the seeds 
of truth seem to have been within the reach of 
all. But they are proved not to have understood 
them accurately, as they contradict themselves. 
By our expression, therefore, that future things 
are predicted by the Prophets, we do not mean 
to assert the necessity of fate ; but that God, fore- 
seeing what would be done by all men, and there 
being an opinion among them that every one will 
be rewarded according to the merit of his actions, 
God, by the prophetic Spirit, foretells a just re- 
tribution, always leading mankind to attention 
and recollection, shewing his providence and care 
for them . . . But that God the Father of all things 
would carry Christ into heaven after his resurrec- 
tion from the dead, and keep him there until he 
shall have smitten the devils who oppose him, 
and till the number of those who he foreknew 
would be good and virtuous shall be completed, 
for whose sake also he has not yet made the final 
consummation, hear what is said by the Prophet 

David- " p. 64. 

It is to be observed, that in this quotation the 
power of man to choose good or evil according 
to the determination o£ his will, and the fore- 
knowledge of God who w r ould be virtuous and 

who 



t>flAP.~v.] cfflmed to 4he Tends'cjf Calvinism. 293 

who would be wicked, &re asserted, not as ques- 
tions of doubt or controversy among Christians* 
hut as fundamental and acknowledged doctrines 
®f the Gospel. And Justin Martyr goes on 
to say, that all who before the time of Christ 
lived agreeably to reason, were Christians -{fj ; 
and he particularly mentions Socrates, Heracli- 
tus, Abraham, Ananias, Azarias, Misael, and 
Ellas. How can all this be reconciled with the 
Calvinistic notions of election and irresistible 
grace? And let if be remembered, that this au- 
thor lived in the time of the Antonines, about 
'one hundred years after the ascension of our 
Saviour. And again, at the -end -of Ms dialogue 
with Trypho, he says : 

w But that those, whether angels or men, who 
-are foreknown that they would be unjust, are not 
wicked through the fault of God, but that each 
through his own fault is what he is, I have shewn 
^above. But that you may not have any pretence 
for saying, that Christ must necessarily have been 
crucified, or that in your race there are trans- 
gressors, and that it could not have been other- 
wise, I have already observed in few words, that 
<jod desiring that men and angels should follow 
fais will, determined to make them with full power 
to act justly, with^he means of knowing by whom 

they 

&) Pp. 69, 70, 
u 4 



296 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

they were made, and through whom they were 
called into existence out of nothing; and with 
this condition, that they were to be judged by him 
if they acted contrary to right reason; and we 
men and the angels shall be by ourselves con- 
victed of having acted wickedly, unless we make 
haste to repent. But if the word of God declares 
beforehand, that some, both angels and men, will 
be hereafter punished, because he knows that 
they would persevere to the last in wickedness, 
he foretold it, but not that God made them such. 
Wherefore if they will repent, all who are willing 
to obtain mercy from God, have it in their power; 
and the word pronounces them happy, saying, 
' Blessed is he to whom God shall not impute 
sinY^;."— p. 434- 

It is material to observe, that in the early days 
of the Gospel the Jews were rigid Predestinarians, 
and that these assertions and arguments occur in 
his dialogue with Trypho the Jew. Justin Mar- 
tyr, therefore, in endeavouring to convert Trypho 
the Jew to the belief of the Gospel, argues against 
the Jewish doctrine of predestination, and main- 
tains and enforces the Gospel doctrines of the 
prescience of God, the free-will of man, and his 
absolute power over his opinions, thoughts, and 
faith. 

** Whoever 

(g) v - 2 * 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 297 

" Whoever are persuaded and believe, that 
those things which are taught and said by us are 
true, and engage that they can live agreeably to 
them, are directed to fast, and pray, and entreat 
from God forgiveness of their former sins, we 
praying and fasting with them. Afterwards they 
are conducted by us to a place where there is 
water, and they are regenerated, according to 
the same mode of regeneration by which we our- 
selves were regenerated, for they are then washed 
with water in the name of the Father of the Uni- 
verse and the Lord God, and of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. For Christ 
said, ( Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter 
into tjie kingdom of heaven' fhJJ' p. 88. — This 
passage decisively proves what was the doc- 
trine of Regeneration in the primitive Church of 
Christ. 

" Neither do we say, that men act or suffer 
according to fate, but that every one does rightly, 
or sius, according to his choice . . . Because God 
from the beginning endowed angels and men with 
free-will, they will justly receive punishment for 
their sins in everlasting fire. For this is the na- 
ture of every one who is born, to be capable of 
virtue and vice : for nothing would be deserving 
of praise, if it had not the power of turning itself 
cither way." — p, 117. 

* What 

' (h) ]ohn } c, 3. v. 5. 



S|§$ ^udtatwmfmn the Fathers, [chap* v. 

What advantage is there in that baptism 
which makes clean flesh and body only ? Wash 
your souls from wrath, and from covetousness, 
from envy, from hatred, and behold the body is 
pure*— p. 164. 

lie introduces Trypho as asking, Whether they 
Avho lived according to the law commanded by 
Moses, will live equally with Jacob* and Enoch, 
Mid Noahj in the resurrection of the dead, of 
ttot ? To which Justin answers, " When I quoted 
the words of Ezekiel, 4 Though Noah, Daniel, and 
Jacob, should desire sons and daughters, it shall 
Mot be given to them fi)f but every one shall be 
saved by his own righteousness, I asserted that 
they also who live according to the law of Moses 
wiH equally be saved. For those things which 
%xe by nature good, and pious, and just, are 
Enacted in the law of Moses to be done by those 
"who t>bey it ; and those things which were com* 
tnaiided on account of the hardness of heart of 
the people, are equally written in it, which they 
%lso performed who were under the law* Since 
Ihey who did those things which are good, uni* 
Vers&lly, by nature, and for ever, are well pleasing 
'to God, and shall be saved through Christ in the 
-resurrection, equally with those just men who went 

before 

ft) Justin Martyr seems to refer to Efcek. c. 14. 
^ 24 jk 36 ; but he mentions Jacob instead of Job, and 
in other respects his quotation is not accurate* 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 299 

before them, Noah, and Enoch, and Jacob, and 
any others there may be, together with those who 
have known this Christ the Son of God." — p. 226. 

" God being willing that both angels and men 
should have a free choice, and be masters of them- 
selves, created each to do whatever he gave them 
strength to be able to do ; so that if they chose 
what was pleasing to him, he might keep them 
free from corruption and punishment ; but if they 
should sin, he might punish them in the manner 
he thinks fit." — p. 332. 

" All mankind know that adultery is wicked, 
and fornication, and murder, and other things of 
the same kind. And although all men do these 
things, they are aware that they act unjustly when 
they do them, except those who being filled with 
an unclean^ spirit, and corrupted by education, 
and bad habits, and wicked laws, have destroyed 
their natural ideas, or rather extinguished or stifled 
them.*— p. 342. 

" The Father of the Universe was willing that 
his Christ should take the curses of all, for the 
whole human race." — p. 345. 

" As he knew that it would be good, he made 
both angels and men with free-will to act justly; 
and because he likewise knew that it would be 
good, he made both universal and partial judge- 
ments (Koc$-o\iKXs xzi [/.spinas Kpitra; ijroUi) : free- 
will, however, being preserved." — -p. 356, 



300 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v„ 



TATIAN— A. D. 172. 
Worth's Edition — Oxford, 1700. 

u The Word, before the formation of men, 
created angels. But each species of these created 
beings was endowed with power over themselves, 
not having natural goodness, except only from 
God, being perfected by men through the free- 
dom of choice ; that he who is wicked may be 
justly punished, being made wicked by himself ; 
and that he who is just may deservedly be praised 
on account of his good actions, not having, 
through his power over himself, transgressed the 
will of God. Such is the nature of angels and 
men. But the power of the Word having in it- 
self the foreknowledge of what would happen, not 
according to fate, but by the determination of 
free agents, foretold future events, and guarded 
against wickedness by prohibitions, and com- 
mended those who should persevere in goodness.'* 
p. 26. 

" Free-will destroyed us. Being free we be- 
came slaves ; we w ere sold because of sin. No 
evil proceeds from God. We have produced 
wickedness; but those who have produced it, 
have it in their power again to renounce it." 
P* 45- 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 301 

IRENxEUS — A. D. 178. 
Benedictine Edit. * 

" Giving his disciples the power of regenera^ 
tion to God, he said to them, ' Go, and teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the. 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost'." 
p. 208. 

In another place, Irenasus speaks of " the bap- 
tism of regeneration to God." p. 93. And in a 
third place he says, " Christ came to save all 
men through himself; all, I say, who through 
him are born again to God, infants, and little 
children, and boys, and youths, and old men," 
p. 147. evidently referring to baptism, as is men- 
tioned in the note. 

" Mary is found obedient, saying, 1 Behold 
the handmaid of the Lord ; be it unto me accord- 
ing to thy word (j).' But Eve was disobedient, 
for she did not obey . : . As Eve, by being dis- 
obedient, became the cause of death both to her- 
self and to the whole human race, so Mary also, 
by being obedient, became the cause of salvation 
both to herself, and to the whole human race . . . 
The Lord is £ the first-born from the dead (k)J 
and receiving into his bosom the ancient Fathers^ 
he regenerated them into the life of God, he him- 
self 

r (j) Luke, c. j. v. 38* (k) Col. c. i, v, 18, 



302 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

self being made the beginning of those who live, 
as Adam was made the beginning of those who 
die. Wherefore Luke, also beginning the gene- 
alogy from our Lord, carried it back to Adam, 
signifying that they did not regenerate him but 
he them into the Gospel of life." — p. 219. 

" John the Baptist, speaking of Christ, says, 
' He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and 
with fire : whose fan is in his hand, and he will 
thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat 
into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff 
with unquenchable fire (I J. 9 He therefore who 
made the wheat, and he who made the chaff, are 
not different persons, but one and the same per- 
son, judging, that is, separating them. But the 
corn and chaff being inanimate and irrational, are 
made such by nature. But man, being endowed 
with reason, and in this respect like to God, 
being made free in his will, and having power 
over himself, is himself the cause that sometimes 
he becomes wheat, and sometimes chaff. Where- 
fore he will also be justly condemned, because, 
being made rational, he lost true reason, and 
living irrationally, he opposed the justice of God, 
delivering himself up to every earthly spirit, and 
serving all lusts." — p. 231. 

" All the multitude of those just men who lived 

before 

(I) Matt. c. 3. v, 11 & 12, 



chap, v.] opposed ia the Tenets of Cafoiaim. 303 
before Abraham, and of those Patriarchs who 
were prior to Moses, were justified without th$ 
things which have been mentioned above, and 
without the law of Moses . . . The just Patriarchs- 
having the spirit of the Decalogue written in their 
hearts and souls, that is, loving God who made 
them, and abstaining from injustice towards their 
neighbour, on which account it was not necessary 
that they should be admonished with prohibitory 
mandates, because they had the justice of the law 
in themselves. But when this justice and love 
towards God had fallen into oblivion, and were 
extinguished in Egypt, God necessarily, out of 
his great benevolence towards men, shewed him- 
self by a voice, and brought the people out of 
Egypt in virtue, that man might again become 
the disciple and follower of God." — p. 246, 

" Christ did not come for those only who be- 
lieved on him in the time of Tiberius Caesar, nop 
did the Father make provision for those only who 
are now living ; but for all men altogether, who 
from the beginning, according to their virtue in 
;heir generation, have both feared and loved God ? 
and have lived justly and piously towards their 
neighbours, and have wished to see Christ and 
to hear his voice.' —p. 259, 

li He hath made manifest that we ought with 
wr calling to be adorned also with the works of 

justice, 



304 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap.v, 

justice, that the Spirit of God may rest upon us,' r 
p. 279. 

" The expression, ' How often would I have 
gathered thy children together, and ye would 
not (mf manifested the antient law of human 
liberty, because God made man free from the be- 
ginning, having his own power, as he had also his 
own soul, to use the sentence of God voluntarily, 
and not by compulsion from God. For there is 
no force with God, but a good intention is always 
in him. And therefore he gives good counsel to 
all. But he has placed the power of choice in 
man, as also in angels, (for angels are endowed 
with reason) that those who should obey might 
justly possess good, given indeed by God, but 
preserved by themselves. But those who have 
not obeyed, will, justly, not be found in possession 
of good, and will receive merited punishment; 
because God has given good bountifully, but 
they have not diligently kept it, or thought it 
valuable, but have despised his supereminent 
goodness. Rejecting, therefore, and as it were 
refusing that which is good, they will all deserv- 
edly incur the just judgement of God 

God therefore has given good, and they who 
work it shall receive glory and honour, because 
they worked good, when they had it in their 

power 

(m) Matt.c. 23. v. 37. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 305 

power not to work it; but those who do not 
work it, will receive the just judgement of God, 
because they have not worked good when they 
had it in their power to work it. But if some 
men were bad by nature, and others good, neither 
the good would deserve praise, for they were 
created so, nor would the bad deserve blame, 
being bom so. But since all men are of the 
same nature, and able to lay hold of and do that 
which is good, and able to reject it again, and not 
do it, some justly receive praise, even from men, 
who act according to good laws, and much more 
from God ; and obtain deserved testimony of 
generally choosing and persevering in that which 
is good ; but others are blamed, and receive, the 
deserved reproach of rejecting that which-is just 
and good. And therefore the Prophets exhorted 
men to do justice, and perform good works." . . . 
And after quoting several passages of Scripture, 
he adds, " All these things shew the free-will of 
man, and the counsel of God, exhorting against 
disobedience, but not forcing our wills. For if 
any one should be unwilling to follow the Gospel, 
it is permitted him, although it is not expedient. 
For , disobedience to God and loss of good, are in 
the power of man, but they cause no small injury 
and mischief. And on this account St. Paul 
says, ' All things are lawful, but all things are 
X not 



306 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

not expedient (nj referring both to the liberty 
of man; on which account all things are per- 
mitted, God not compelling man ; and by the 
expression ' not expedient/ shewing that they 
t should not abase liberty for a cloak of malicious- 
ness, for this is not expedient. And again he says, 
6 Speak every man truth with his neighbourly ; 5 
and ' Let no corrupt communication proceed out 
of your mouth ; neither filthiness, nor foolish 
talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient ; 
but rather giving of thanks (p) : ' And, ' For ye 
were some time darkness, but now are ye light 
in the Lord : walk as children of light ; not in 
rioting and drunkenness ; not in chambering and 
wantonness ; not in strife and envying : and such 
were some of you ; but ye are washed, but ye are 
sanctified, in the name of the Lord f q If then 
it were not in our power to do or not to do these 
things, what reason had the Apostle, and much 
more our Lord himself, to exhort us to do some 
things and to abstain from others ? But because 
God is of a free will from the beginning, and 
God of a free will, in whose likeness man was 
made, advice is always given him to keep the 
good, which is done by obedience to God. And 

God 

(n) 1 Cor. c. 6. v. 12. (0) Eph, c. 4. v. 25. 

(p ) Eph. c. 4. v. 29. and c. 5. v. 4. 

(q) Eph.c.5. v. 8. Rom, c. 13. v. 13. 1 Cor, c. 6. v.i 1, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 30? 

God has preserved to man a will free, and in 
his own power, not only in works, but also in 
faith, saying, 8 According to your faith, be it 
unto you (r) shewing that the^ faith of man is 
his own, because he has his own will. And 
again, ' All things are possible to him that be- 
lieveth^^ And, 'Go thy way; and as thoii 
hast believed, so be it done unto theef f).' And 
all such expressions shew that man is in his ow r n 
power with respect to faith. And on this account^ 
* he who believeth in him hath eternal life : but 
he who doth not believe the Son, hath not eternal 
life, but the wrath of God shall remain upon 
him ( u'J' In the same manner, God both shew* 
ing his own goodness, and signifying that man is 
in his own free will and power, said to Jerusa- 
lem, I How often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, but ye would not! 
wherefore your house shall be left desolate (x )" 
p. 281. 

" Man has received the knowledge of good 
and evil, but it is good to obey God, and to be- 
lieve in him, and to keep his commandments, arid 
this is the life of man ; as not to obey God is 

evil j 

(r) Matt. c. 9. v. 29, (s) Mark, c. 9, v. 23* 
{*) Matt. c. 8. v 13. X^) J°hn> c. 3. v. 36* 
(x) Matt. c. 23, v. 37, 384 

3C 9 



.308 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

evil ; and this is his death. God therefore afford- 
ing this power of the mind, men know both the 
good of obedience, and the evil of disobedience ; 
that the eye of the mind, receiving experience of 
both, may with judgement make choice of the 
better things, and never become indolent or neg- 
ligent of God's command ; and learning by ex- 
perience that that which takes away life from him, 
that is, disobedience to God, is evil, may never 
attempt it ; but knowing that that which pre- 
serves life, namely, obedience to God, is good, 
he may diligently keep it with all earnestness . . . 

If you shall not believe in him, the cause 

of imperfection will be in you, who did not obey, 
but not in him who called. For he sent to call 
to the marriage ; but they who did not obey, de- 
prived themselves of the royal supper. The 
power of God (ars Dei,) therefore, is not want- 
ing ; for he is able of stones to raise up children 
to Abraham ; but he who does not obtain it, is 
the cause of his own imperfection. Nor does 
the light fail, because men blind themselves ; but, 
that remaining as it is, those who are blinded are 
in darkness from their own fault, the light not 
enslaving any one by necessity; nor God forcing, 
if any one should not be willing to avail himself 
of his (God's) power (continere ejus artem.) 
Those, therefore, who desert the light given by 
12 the 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 309 

the Father, and transgress the law of liberty, have 
deserted it from their own fault, having been 
made free, and endowed with free-will. But 
God, foreknowing all things, has prepared fit 
habitations for both : to those who seek the light 
of incorruption, and run to it, kindly giving that 
light which they desire; but for others, who de- 
spise it, and turn away from it and avoid it, and 
as it were blind themselves, he has prepared 
darkness suitable to persons who dislike light; 
and upon those who will not be subject to it, he 

has inflicted appropriate punishment 

Since all good things are with God, they who by 
their own determination fly from God, defraud 
themselves of all good things, but being defrauded 
of all good things towards God, they will conse- 
quently incur the just judgement of God. They 
who fly from the eternal light of God, which con- 
tains in it all good things, are themselves the cause 
of their inhabiting eternal darkness, destitute of ail 
good things, becoming to themselves the cause of 
this habitation." — p. 285. 

u Isaiah, preaching in Judea, and disputing 
with Israel, called them rulers of Sodom, and 
people of Gomorrah (y) ; intimating that they 
were like the inhabitants of Sodom in trans- 
gression, and that they were guilty of the same 

sins 3 

(y) IsuLV. 1, y« io» 



310 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 

sins, calling them by the same name, because 
their conduct was similar. And because they 
were not naturally made so by God, but were 
able to act justly, he said, giving them good 
counsel, * Wash ye, make you clean, put 
away the evil of your doings from before mine 
eyes, cease to do evil (z)J Because they had 
transgressed and sinned, they received the same 
reproof as the inhabitants of Sodom. For when 
they were converted, and repented, and rested 
from wickedness, they were able to be the sons 
of God, and to obtain the inheritance of incor- 
ruption which is afforded by him." — p. 288. 

" Being predestinated according to the pre- 
science of the Father." — p. 292. 

" As by the former generation (Adam) we in- 
herited death, so by this generation (Christ) we 
inherit life . . . That as we all died in the animal, 
so we may -all be made alive in the spiritual." — 
p. 293. 

" (Christ) saving in himself that, in the end, 
which in the be ginning had perished in Adam." — - 
p. 310. 

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA— A. D. 194. ■ 
P utter s Edition, 

u We are consecrated to God for the sake of 
Christ, we are a chosen generation, a royal priest- 
hood, 

(z) Is. c. i. v. 160 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 311 
hood, an holy nation (a)." In this passage, Cle- 
ment of Alexandria, in the words of St. Peter, 
speaks of the whole body of Christians, as chosen, 
or elect 

" If eternal salvation were to be bought, how 
much, O man, would you profess to give for it? 
If any one were to measure out all Pactolus, the 
fabled river of gold, he would not pay an equi- 
valent price. Do not, then, despair. It is in 
your power, if you will, to purchase this precious 
salvation, with your own treasure, charity and 
faith, which is the just price of life. This price- 
God willingly accepts.'' — p. 71. 

" To whom will the Lord say, ' Yours is the 
kingdom of heaven (b)}\ It is your's, if ye be 
willing, who have the power of choosing the 
things which belong to God : it is your's, if ye be 
willing only to obey those brief instructions which 
have been preached to you." — p. 79. 

He twice speaks of " regenerating with water 
evidently meaning baptism. — pp. 156. 551. — 
And he even applies the word regenerated to 
our Saviour's baptism. — p. 113. 

iC He says to Moses, ' Go and tell Pharaoh 
tq send out the people, but I am sure that he 
will not send them out (c)\ In this he clearly 

points 

(a) l Pet. c. 2. v. 9. (b) Matt. c. 5. v. 3. & 10. 
(c) Exod. c. 3. v. 18, 19% 

X4 



312 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v e 
points oat both his divinity, in foreknowing what 
•would happen ; and his goodness, in graciously 
giving the freedom of Pharaoh's mind opportu- 
nities to repent." — p. 143. This passage shews 
that Clement of Alexandria considered the pre- 
science of God and the free-will of man, as not 
incompatible. 

M God is free from all blame with respect to 
the person who has not chosen what is best."— 
p. 318. 

u Abraham was justified not by works, but by 
faith ; therefore it will be of no service to them 
after this life, even if they now do good works, 
unless they have faith." — p. 338. 

" Neither praise, nor dispraise, nor honours, 
nor punishments, would be just, if the soul had 
not the power of desiring and rejecting, and if 
vice were involuntary." — p. 368. 

" But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews 
indeed a stumbling-block ; because, knowing the 
prophecy, they do not believe the event: but 
unto the Greeks foolishness ; for they who pro- 
fess themselves to be wise, consider it as a fable, 
that the Soa of God should speak in a human 
form, and that God should have a Son, and that 
he should suffer. From whence the prejudice of 
self-opinion over-persuaded them to disbelieve. 
For the coming of our Saviour did not make men 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 313 
foolish, and hard hearted, and unbelieving, but 
wise, and easy to be persuaded, and moreover 
believers. But they who were unwilling to be- 
lieve, by separating themselves from those who 
voluntarily obeyed, were proved to be unwise, 
and unbelievers, and foolish ; but unto them 
which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ 
is the power of God and the wisdom of God „ . . 
And being wise they were in much greater fa.ult 
for not believing the preaching, for the choice 
and adoption of truth are voluntary .... All- 
men therefore being; called, those who v^ere 
willing to obey were denominated The Called. 
For with God there is no injustice. Thus 
those of either race who believed, were 1 a pe- 
culiar people.' And in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles you rind this expression ; ' Then they that 
[gladly] received his word, were baptized (d) ; 
but those who were not willing to believe, evi- 
dently alienated themselves. To these the pro- 
phecy says, ' If ye be willing and obedient, ye 
shall eat the good of the lmd(e) shewing 
that it rests with ourselves whether we will ac- 
cept or reject." — p. 370. 

" The Lord clearly shews that sins and of- 
fences are in our own power, pointing out me- 
thods of cure suited to the disorders, wishing us 

to 

(d) Acts, c, 2. v. 41, (e) Is. c, 1. v. 19. 



314 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
to be corrected by the shepherds, according to 
Ezekiel, accusing some of them, I suppose, be- 
cause they had not kept the commandments : 
* The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither 
have ye healed that which was sick, neither have 
ye bound up that which* was broken, neither have 
ye brought again that which was driven away, 
neither have ye sought that which w r as lost; but 
with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 
And they were scattered because there is no 
shepherd ; and they became meat to all the 
beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, 
and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was 
scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none 
aid search or seek after them For there 

is great joy with the Father over one sinner that 
is saved." — p. 465. 

" As therefore he is to be commended, who 
uses his power in leading a virtuous life, so much 
more is he to be venerated and adored, who has 
given us this free and sovereign power, and has 
permitted us to live, not having allowed what 
we choose or what we avoid to be subject to a 
slavish necessity." — p. 529. 

" That thing is in our own power, of which 
we are equally masters, as of its opposite; as, 

t® 

(f) Ezek. c. 34. v. 4> &c. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 315 
to philosophize or not ; to believe or not." — < 
P 633. 

" ' For therein is the righteousness of God 
revealed from faith to faith (g). y The Apostle 
therefore seems to announce two faiths, or rather 
one which admits of increase and perfection : for 
a common faith is laid as a foundation." — p. 644. 

" Since some are without faith and others 
contentious, all do not obtain the perfection of 
good. Nor is it possible to obtain it without our 
own exertion. The whole, however, does not 
depend upon our own will, for instance our fu- 
ture destiny ; ' for we are saved by grace (h J,' 
not indeed without good works. But those who 
are naturally disposed to good, must apply some 
attention to it." — p. 647. 

" Faith, although it be a voluntary consent of 
the soul, is, however, the worker of good things, 
and the foundation of a right conduct." — p. 697. 

" His w ill is, that we should be saved by our- 
selves. This then is the nature of the soul, to 
move by itself. Then we who are rational, phi- 
losophy itself being rational, have some relation 
to it. Fitness, indeed, is a tendency to virtue, 
but it is not virtue. All men then, as I said, are 
qualified by nature for the acquisition of virtue. 
But one man makes a greater progress, another 
Jess, both in knowledge and practice. Therefore 

some 

(g) Rom. c. 1, v, 17. (h) Eph, c. 2. v. 5. 



31 6 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
some men have attained even to perfect virtue, 
bat others have gone only a certain length; and 
again others, being neglected, though they had 
otherwise a good natural disposition, have turned 
in an opposite direction." — p. 788. 

u Wherefore when we hear, ' Thy faith hath 
made thee whole,' we do not understand him to 
say that men will be saved, however they have 
believed, unless good works also shall follow." — - 
P- 794. 

" Either the Lord does not care for all men, 
and this proceeds either from his not being able 
to do so, which it is wrong to suppose, as it would 
be a sign of weakness, or from his not being 
willing, although able, which would not be com- 
patible with his attribute of goodness, for he who 
for our sake took flesh subject to suffering, is not 
slothful ; — or, he does care for all men, which is 
becoming him who is Lord of all ; for he is the 
Saviour, not of some and not of others, since he 
distributed his favour according to the fitness of 
every one, both to Greeks and to Barbarians, 
and to those of them who were predestinated, 
being called in his own time, the faithful, and 
elect. Nor would he, who equally called all, 
withhold his kindness (p3W«j) from any; but 
he gave extraordinary honours to those who be* 
lieved in an extraordinary degree . . . But how is 
he the Saviour and Lord, if he be not the Saviour 

and 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 317 

and Lord of all ? He is indeed the Saviour of those 
who believed, because they were willing to know 
him. But of those who did not believe he is so far 
the Lord, as, having it in their power to confess 
him, they might have obtained through him an 
appropriate and corresponding benefit . . . The 
Saviour never hates men, who from his exceeding 
great love, not despising the weakness of human 
flesh, but clothing himself in it, came for the 
common salvation of men . . . When he had taken 
a sensible flesh, he came to shew men what was 
possible with respect to obedience to the pre- 
cepts." — p. 832. 

" We say that there is one ancient and Catholic 
Church, collecting into the unity of one faith, 
according to its own testaments, or rather accord- 
ing to one testament, delivered at sundry times, 
by the will of one God, through one Lord, those 
who had been already ordained, whom God pre- 
destinated, who he knew, before the foundation of 
the world, would be just. But the excellence of 
the Church, like the origin of its formation, is 
according to unity, surpassing all other- things, 
and having nothing similar or equal to itself" — ■ 
p. 899. 

" ' If thou wilt be perfect (i) :' He was not 
therefore yet perfect, for nothing is more than 
perfect. And the expression, if thou wilt, shewed, 

upon 

(i) Matt. c. 19. v. 21. 



3 1 S Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v* 
upon divine authority, the free-will of the mind 
which was conversing with him. For the choice 
was in the man, as being free ; but the gift is in 
God, as Lord. But he gives to those who are 
willing, and strive, and pray, that thus their sal* 
vation may be their own. For God does not 
compel. For force is repugnant to God ; but 
he gives to those who seek, he supplies those who 
ask, he opens to those w ho knock." — p. 940. 

" God pardons what is past, but every one has 
the future in his own power."— p. 957. 

TERTULLIAN— A. P. 200. 
Rigaltius's. Edition — a. d. 1675. 

cc Every one has a right belonging to man, 
and a natural power to worship that which he 
shall think right; nor is any one injured or bene- 
fited by the religion of another. Nor is it any 
part of religion to force religion, which ought to 
be taken up spontaneously, not by force." — p. 69* 

" Whence was Noah found to be just, if the 
justice of natural law was not before his time ? 
Whence was Abraham reckoned the friend of 
God, if not from equity, and the justice^of natural 
law ? Whence was Meichizedec called the Priest 
of the Most High, if there were not Levites, who 
offered sacrifices to God, before the priesthood 
of the Levitical law ? . . . Whence we understand 
that there was a law before Moses, not only in 

Horebj 



©hap. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 319 

Horeb, or in Sinai, and in the Wilderness ; but 
more ancient, first in Paradise ; afterwards formed 
afresh for the Patriarchs, and then for the Jews 
at certain intervals." — p. 184. He goes on to 
shew, that Abel, and Enoch, and Melchizedec, 
and Lot and Abraham, pleased God before the 
Mosaic law was given, or circumcision instituted. 

" I find that man was formed by God with 
free-will, and with power over himself, observing 
in him no image or likeness to God more than in 
this respect : for he was not formed after God, 
who is uniform, in face, and bodily lines, which 
are so various in mankind ; but in that substance 
which he derived from God himself, that is, the 
soul, answering to the form of God ; and he was 
stamped with freedom, and power of his will. 
The law also itself, which was then imposed by 
God, confirmed this condition of man. For a> 
law would not have been imposed on a person 
who had not in his power the obedience dne to 
the law ; nor again would transgression have 
been threatened with death, ft the contempt also 
of the law were not placed to the account of 
man's free-will. The same thing also you may 
find in the subsequent laws of the Creator, when 
he sets before men good and evil, life and death ; 
and likewise the whole order of discipline arranged 
by precepts, God dissuading and threatening and 

exhorting, 



320 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, y, 

exhorting, and man being free and at liberty 
to obey or to despise . . . For it was necessary 
that the image and likeness of God should be 
formed with a free will in his own power, in 
which this very thing, namely, freedom of will, 
and power, might be considered as the image 
and likeness of God . . . He who should be found 
to be good or bad by necessity and not volun- 
tarily, could not with justice receive the retri- 
bution of either good or evil." — p. 384. 

" Therefore though we have learnt from the 
commands of God, both what he wills and what 
he forbids, yet w r e have a will and power to choose 
either, as it is written, Behold I have set be- 
fore you good and evil : for you have tasted of 
the tree of knowledge. Therefore that which is 
subject to our own will, we ought not to refer to 
1 he will of God : he who wills no evil, wills that 
w e should have a will. Thus it is our own will, 
wh en we will evil, contrary to the will of God, 
who ' wills that which is good. Moreover if you 
ask w hence that will comes, by which we will any 
thing t 'ontrary to the will of God, I will tell you : 
It come s from ourselves. And not without rea- 
son ; foi " you must resemble the origin from 
which you sprang : since Adam, the author both 
of our race ' an d of sin, willed that in which he 
sinned. Fof the devil did not communicate to 

him 



CHA3P. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 32 1 
him the Will to sin; but supplied matter for the 
will. But the will of God directed him to obe- 
dience. Wherefore if you do not obey God, 
who having given you a command has formed 
you with a free power, you will voluntarily fall, 
by the freedom of your will, into that which 
God does not will. And thus you think that 
you are destroyed by the devil, who although he 
wills you to will that which God does not will, 
yet he does not cause you to will : because neither 
did he compel our first parents to the will of sin • 
nor were they unwilling, nor ignorant of what 
God forbade ; for he forbade it to be done when 
he made death the consequence of doing it. 
Therefore the only work of the devil is, to tempt 
that which is in you, whether you will. But 
when you have willed, it follows that he turns it 
to his own purpose (sibi subjungit), not having 
caused the will in you, but having taken an 
opportunity to w 7 ork upon your will. Therefore 
since the will is in ourselves only, and by it our 
disposition towards God is proved, I say that we 
must deeply and earnestly consider, the will of 
God." — p. 519. 

GRIG EN — A. D. 230. 
Benedict. Edit. 

u Moreover, because the soul, having sub- 
stance and life in itself, when it departs out of 

y this 



3^2 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, t . 
this world, will be disposed of according to it$ 
merits, either enjoying the inheritance of eternal 
life and bliss, if its conduct shall have procured 
this for it, or suffering eternal fire arid punish- 
ment, if the guilt of its sins shall have thrust it 
into that condition ; and because there will be a 
time of the resurrection of the dead, when thi^ 
body, 1 which is sown in corruption, will be 
raised in incorruption ; and that which is sown in 
dishonour, will be raised in glory (k) ; this also is 
settled in the doctrine of the Church, that every 
rational soul has free-wdll, and that it has to 
contend against the devil and his angels, and the 
powers which oppose it, because they strive t& 
burden it with sins : but we, if we live rightly 
and prudently, endeavour to rescue ourselves 
from this kind of burden. Whence, consequently, 
we may understand, that we are not subject to 
necessity, so as to be compelled by all means to 
do either bad or good things, although it be 
against our will. For if we be masters of our 
will, some powers, perhaps, may urge us to sin, 
and others assist us to safety; yet we are not 
compelled by necessity to act either rightly op 
wrongly — Vol. 1. p. 48. 

•* The cause of the difference and variety in 
every individual creature, is shewn to arise from 

thei? 

(k) 1 Cor. c. x$, v-4*, 43. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 323 

their own motions being more ardent or more 
slow, towards virtue or towards wickedness, and 
not from the inequality of him who dispenses. . . . 
According to us, there is nothing in any rational 
creature, which is not capable as well of good as 
of evil .... There is no nature which does not 
admit of good or evil, except the nature of God, 
which is the foundation of all good." — Vol. 1 . p, 74. 

" Since all have free-will, and may of their 
own accord pursue virtue or vice, some souls 
will be (at the end of the world) in a much worse 
condition than they now are, and others will 
arrive at a better state." — Vol. 1. p. 76. 

" We have frequently shewn in all our dis- 
putations, that the nature of rational souls is such, 
as to be capable of good and evil. Every one 
has the power of choosing good, and of choosing 
evil." — Vol. 1. p. 91. 

" The Creator indulged the minds formed by 
himself with voluntary and free motions, that the 
good in them might be their own, since it was 
preserved by their own will ; but indolence and 
dislike of exertion in preserving good, and aver- 
sion and indifference to better things, caused the 
beginning of receding from good." — Vol. 1. p. 97. 

" Because rational creatures themselves are 
endowed with the power of choice, the liberty of 
his will has either excited every one to proficiency 

y 2 by 



324 Quotations front the Fathers, [chap. V, 

bv imitation of God, or has drawn him to defl- 
ciency through negligence 1 . And this, as we 
have before said, was the cause of the difference 
between rational creatures ; not deriving its origin 
from the will or decree of the Creator, but from 
the freedom of their own will/' — Vol. i. p. 99. 

" That any thing external to ourselves should 
happen, exciting in us this or that idea, is con- 
fessedly not in our power ; but to determine in 
what manner we should use any thing, is the 
work of nothing, but of the reason which is within 
m, namely, of that reason, which, according to 
opportunities, forms us for those impulses, which 
invite us to what is right and honest, or incline 
us to the contrary." — Vol. 1. p. lag. 

" That it is our business to live virtuously, and 
that God requires this of us, not as his own gift, 
or supplied by any other person, or as some 
think, decreed by fate, but as our own work, the 
Prophet Micah will witness, saying, e He hath 
shewed thee, O man, what is good : and what doth 
the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love 
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God (I J ? * 
And Moses, I have set before you life and 
death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose 
life, that both thou and thy seed may live fmJJ 
And Isaiah, , c If ye be willing and obedient, ye 

shall 

(I) Mic. c. 6. v. 8* (m) Deut. c. 30. v. 19. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 325 

shall eat the good of the land ; but if ye refuse 
and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword, 
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken \t(n)J 
And in the Psalms, ' O that my people would 
have heartened unto me : for if Israel had walked 
in my ways, I would have put down their enemies,, 
and turned my hand against their adversaries f 0) :' 
which proves that it was in the power of the 
people to hearken, and to walk in the ways of 
God. And our Saviour says, ' But I say unto 
you, that ye resist not evil (70 ; ' and ' that 
whosoever is angry with his brother without a 
cause, shall be in danger of the judgement (q ) ;' 
and 6 that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust 
after her, hath committed adultery with her already 
in his heart (r)' And when he gives other 
commandments, he shews that it is in our power 
to keep them, as we shall be justly subject to 
judgement if we transgress them : ' Therefore, 
says he, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, 
and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man 
which built his house upon a rock,' See. ; ( And 
every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and 
doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man. 
which built his house upon the sand,' &c. (s). 

And 

(n) Is. c. 1. v. 19, 20. (0) Ps. 81. v. 13, 14, 
(p) Matt. c. 5. v. 39, (q) Matt. c. 5. v. 22. 
(r) Matt. c.5. v. 2$. (s) Matt. c. 7, v, 24, &c. 

Y 3 



326 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v*. 

And he says to those on the right hand, ' Come, 
ye blessed of my Father,' &c. ; e for I was an-hun- 
gred; and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink;' &c. (t) : plainly shewing, that 
he makes promises to those who are themselves 
the cause of their being praised. And on the 
contrary, he says to the others, as being them- 
selves the cause of their being culpable, * Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,' &c. 
And let us see how Paul also reasons with us as 
having free-will, and being ourselves the cause 
of our destruction or salvation : c Or despisest 
thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, 
and long-suffering ; not knowing that the goodness 
of God leadeth thee to repentance ? but after thy 
hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto 
thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and reve- 
lation of the righteous judgement of God ; who 
will render to every man according to his deeds : 
to them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, 
seek for glory, and honour, and immortality ; eter- 
nal life : but unto them that are contentious, and 
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, 
indignation, and wrath, tribulation and anguish 
upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the 
Jew first, and also of the Gentile : but glory, 
honour, and peace to every man that worketh 

good, 

(t) Matt, c. 35. v. 34, &c„ 



€MAP. v.] opposed fa tfie Tenets of Calvinism. 327 

good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile ( a)? 
There are therefore innumerable passages in the 
Scriptures, most clearly asserting free-will. "-— 
Vol. 1. p. 111. 

" Let us make use of a comparison from the 
Gospel : Some stones -are covered with a very 
little earth, upon which if the seed falls, it quickly 
springs up ; but not having root, when the sun 
rises, it is burnt up and withered. And this 
stone is the human mind, which is hardened by 
negligence, and converted into stone by wicked- 
ness ; for no person's mind is created stony by 
God, but becomes so by wickedness," — Vol, 1. 
p. 122* 

" But because the Apostle (Paul) sometimes 
does not ascribe to God that the vessel is to honour 
*>r dishonour, but refers the whole to ourselves, 
saying, 6 If a man therefore purge himself from 
these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified 
and meet for the masters use, and prepared 
unto every good work (xj f and sometimes he 
does not attribute it to ourselves, but seems to 
refer every thing to God, saying, * Hath not tho 
potter power over the clay, of the same lump $0 
make one vessel <unto honour, and another to 
dishonour (y ) ? ? These expressions are not con- 
tradictory ; 

'fuj Rom. c, 2. v. 4—10. (x) 2 Tim. c, 2. y. 2u 
(y) Rom. c. 9. v. ai* 

y 4 



32 S Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 

tradictory: they are reconcilable, and one per- 
fect sense may be derived from them ; for neither 
does our free-will without the instruction of God, 
nor does the instruction of God, compel us to 
make a proficiency, unless we ourselves contri- 
bute something to the oood : neither our free-will 
without the instruction of God, and the exercise 
of this privilege of free-will, causing any one to 
be to honour or dishonour ; nor the will of God 
alone making any one to honour or dishonour, 
unless he has some ground of difference, (namely), 
our will inclining towards what is good, or what 
is bad." — Vol. i. p. 137. 

But it rests with ourselves whether we make 
a vigorous exertion of the power given us, or 
not ; for it is certain that in every temptation we 
have the power of enduring, provided we make 
a competent use of the power granted to us. 
For it is not the same thing to have the power of 
conquering and to conquer,, as the Apostle him- 
self has pointed out in this very guarded expres- 
sion; 1 God will make a way to escape, that ye 
may be able to bear \l(z ), 7 not that ye may bear 
it. For many do not bear it, but are overcome 
by the temptation. God grants not that we may 
bear it, for then, it seems, there would be no 
struggle; but that we may be able to bear it. 

But 

(z) 1 Cor. c. 10. v. 13, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Cahhnsm. 329 

But we make use of that power which is given 
us, to enable us to conquer, according to our 
free-will, either with energy, and then we con- 
quer; or sluggishly, and then we are overcome. 
For if it were entirely given to us in every case 
to conquer, and by no means to be overcome, 
what cause of contest would remain to him wh'd 
could not be overcome ? or wh&t #ou!d 1 \.«e 
merit of victory, where there : n » er of 

resisting and conquering? 1 - the possibility 
of conquering be equally aflorded to us all/ but 
It remains in our own power bow we use this pos- 
sibility, whether with energy or sluggishly, the 
conquered will be justly blamed, and the con- 
queror justly rewarded. v — Vol. 1. p. 140, 

" Nothing else is to be considered as happen- 
ing to us from the good or evil suggested to our 
hearts, but a mere motion or incitement to good 
or evil. But it is possible tor us, when an evil 
power shall begin to incite us to ev>i, to reject 
from us evil suggestions, and tt> reskt wicked 
persuasions, and to do nothing deserving of blame.- 
_And, again, it is possible for us when a divine 
power incites us to what is good, not to obey ; 
freedom of will being preserved to us in eithef 
case." — Vol. 1. p. 140. 

" I think that the motion of rational beings is 
jself -motion. But if we take from an animal 

self-motion* 



i|f Quotations from ike Fathers^ [chap. v. 

aelf-motion, it can be no longer considered as an 
animal ; but it will either be like a plant, which 
is moved by nature alone ; or to a stone, which is 
Impelled by some external force. But if any 
creature follows its own motion, as we should 
call that self-motion, it must necessarily partake 
of reason. Those therefore who contend, that 
nothing is in our own power, will necessarily 
admit the greatest absurdities ; first, that we are 
not animals ; secondly, that we are not rational, 
but being, as it were, moved by an external 
force, and not moving ourselves, we may be said 
to do by that external force what we are thought 
to do ourselves. Besides, let any one, attending 
to what passes within himself, consider whether 
he can without shamelessness say, that he does 
not himself will, and that he does not himself 
eat, and that he does not himself walk, and 
that he does not himself consent, and that he 
does not admit some opinions and reject others 
as false. As therefore there are certain propo- 
sitions, to which a man cannot give his consent, 
however numerous may be the attempts, or how- 
ever plausible may be the reasonings used, so it 
is impossible for any one to admit that nothing 
relating to the affairs of men is left in our own 
power. For who supposes that nothing can be 
comprehended ; or who lives as if he doubted of 
iO , «verj 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 331 

every thing ? Who does not blame a servant, 
when he perceives him committing a fault? And 
who does not accuse a son that pays not a proper 
duty to his parents ? And who does not complain 
of an adulterous woman, and consider her con- 
duct as disgraceful ? For truth compels and 
forces us, whatever cavils may be used, to be 
ready both to commend and to blame, our actions 
being left in our own power, and beins; therefore 
fit objects of praise or dispraise. If therefore 
innumerable motives to virtue and vice, and to 
what is becoming and unbecoming, be preserved 
to us, the result must necessarily be known to 
God with other things before they happen, from 
the creation and foundation of the world ; and 
every thing which God pre-ordained in conse- 
quence of what he saw would be in our power, 
he must have pre-ordained consistently with the 
exercise of our free-will in every instance, both 
what would take place according to his pro- 
vidence, and what would happen from the future 
relation of things; the prescience of God not 
being the cause of events which were future, 
and which depended upon our own free-will. For 
if we were to suppose, that God did not fore- 
know what would happen, we should not the 
less do some things and will others/' — Vol. 1. 
p. 206. 

"Iam 



332 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

" I am of opinion that God so dispenses 
(eiV^ojusn/) every one of the rational souls, that 
he regards their everlasting existence ; for they 
always have free-will ; and of their own accord, 
either by continuing in what is right, they rise to 
the summit of virtue, or through negligence sink, 
by various methods, to this or that degree of 
wickedness," — Vol. 1. p. 261. 

" It was necessary, says Celsus, to call all 
men, since indeed all men are guilty of sin." 
Origen answers, " And in what is gone before 
we have shewn that Jesus said, £ Come unto me, 
all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest (a )' Therefore all men labour- 
ing, and heavy laden, on account of the nature 
of sin, are called to rest by the word of God." 
Vol. 1. p. 489. 

iC Celsus, arguing according to his own prin- 
ciples, asserts, that it is very difficult to make a 
perfect change in nature : but we (knowing that 
there is one and the same nature in every rational 
soul, and maintaining, that not a single one is 
formed wicked by the Creator of all things, but 
that many men become wicked by education, by 
example, and by influence, so that wickedness is 
as it were naturalized in some) are persuaded 
that it is not only not impossible, but not very 

difficulty 

(a) Matt, c, 11. v. 28. 



CHAP, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 335 

difficult, by the divine word to change wickedness 
naturalized (xax/av puflw«<rav), provided any one 
will but admit that he ought to commit himself 
to the Supreme God, and to do every thing with 
a reference to pleasing Him, with whom ' the 
good and the bad are not held in the same esti- 
mation, and with whom the indolent and the 
active man do not meet with the same fate (bj. 9 
But if a change be very difficult to some, it 
must be said, that the cause is in the disposition 
of those, who will not allow that the Supreme 
God will be the just judge of all the actions done 
by every one in this life. For will and exertion 
have great weight in enabling a person to do 
those things which appear very difficult, and, 
to use a strong expression, almost impossible. 
Would a man be able by exertion and practice 
to walk upon a rope stretched on high from one 
side of a theatre to the other, with considerable 
weights upon him ; and would he find it impos- 
sible to live virtuously when he desires it, although 
he has previously been very wicked ? But con- 
sider, whether a person who makes such asser- 
tions, does not accuse the Creator of the rational 
being, rather than the being himself, if he has 
made man capable of doing things difficult, but 

useless, 

(b) Iliad, ix. 319, 320. 



334 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. V* 

useless, and incapable of doing things conducive 
to his own happiness/' — Vol l. p. 492. 

" God always, by means of his word, which 
at all times descended into holy souls, and formed 
men friends of God, and Prophets, corrected 
those who were willing to listen to instruction ; 
and from the coming of Christ he corrects, by 
the Christian doctrine, not those who are un- 
willing, but those who prefer a good life, and 
one pleasing to God. But Celsus, wanting I 
know not what correction, asks, with some doubt, 
Was it not possible for him to correct by his divine 
power, without sending a person for that express 
purpose? Did he mean, that correction should 
take place by God's causing a complete change 
in the imaginations of men, and by his entirely 
removing all wickedness, and infusing virtue into 
them ? Another person will ask, Whether such 
a proceeding would be consistent with nature, or 
even possible ? But supposing that it is possible, 
what would become of free-will ? Where would 
be the laudable adoption of truth, or the accept- 
able rejection of falsehood ? But if it should 
once be granted that this is possible, and might 
be done without impropriety, some one, follow- 
ing the example of Celsus, will ask, Was it not 
possible for God, by his divine power, originally 

to 



&hai*. V.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, $S5 
to make men such, that they should not waot 
any correction, but that they should of themselves 
be diligent and perfect, without any wickedness 
subsisting from the first? These things may 
impose upon the simple and weak, but not uporr 
him who looks into the nature of thine© • for if 
you take away free-will from virtue, you destroy 
&t once its very existence. But this subject 
would require a treatise ; and many things are 
declared concerning it by the Greeks in their 
books upon Providence, who are far from saying 
with Celsus, He does indeed know, but he does 
not correct, nor could he by his Divine power, 
And we have in many places discussed these 
points, as far as we were able ; and the Scriptures 
say the same things to those who can understand 
them. What therefore Celsus addresses to us, 
and to the Jews, will be retorted upon himself,™ 
Does the Supreme God know what happens 
among men, or does he not know ? But if you 
admit that there is a God and a Providence, m 
your writings shew you do, he must necessarily 
know. But if he does know, why does he not 
correct ? Is it necessary for us to give a reason* 
why God, although he knows, does not correct ? 
and is it not equally incumbent upon you,, not 
shewing yourself in your writings to be an Epi- 
curean, but professing to acknowledge a Pro- 
vidence, 



336 Quotations from the Fathers, [chaK V. 

vidence, to assign a reason why God, although 
he knows all human affairs, does not correct 
them, or by his divine power take away wicked- 
ness from every one ? But we do not scruple to 
say, that God does always send those who would 
correct. For there are air.onq men words given 
by God, which invite to what is best ; but there 
is a great difference in the ministers of God. 
And there are a few who entirely and purely 
preach truth, and labour to produce a perfect 
correction. Such were Moses and the Prophets. 
But among all these, the correction through Jesus 
stands distinguished, who wished not merely those 4 
in one corner of the world to be healed, but as 
far as he cculd throughout the universe ; for he 
came to be the Saviour of all mankind." — Vol. 1 . 
P- 503- 

" I assert that man is endowed with free-will, 
declaring that this is the greatest gift conferred 
upon him by God, because all other things are 
by necessity obedient to the command of God. 
For if you speak of the heaven, it stands bear- 
ing tiie Lord, not moved from its appointed 
place. And if you choose to speak of the sun,_ 
it performs its appointed motion, not refusing 
its course, but by necessity serving the Lord. 
And in like manner you see the earth fixed, and 
bearing the command of him who ordered. In 

like 



v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 337 

like maimer other things by necessity serve the 
Creator, not any one of them being able to do 
any other thing but that for which it was made. 
Wherefore we do not praise these things which 
are thus obedient to the Lord ; nor is any hope 
of better things laid up for them, because they 
have voluntarily observed what they were com- 
manded. But it is the will of God, that man 
should obey the understanding, and he has 
received powder to subject himself, not being 
governed by the necessity of nature, or destitute 
of power ; which I say is being endowed with 
free-will, for the sake of better things ; that he 
may receive better things from Him, who is more 
excellent (which is the consequence of obedience), 
and moreover, as it were a debt from the Creator. 
For I do not say that man was thus made to his 
injury, but for the sake of better things. For if 
he had been made like one of the elements, or 
anv thing of that kind, there w r ould have been a 
necessity that he should serve God ; he would no 
'longer receive a suitable reward of his choice, but 
man would be as an instrument of his Creator, 
and he who uses it would be the cause of these 
things. But neither would man have arrived at 
superior knowledge, knowing nothing else but 
that only for which he w r as formed. I say there- 
fore that God has thus honoured man • it being 

Z his - 



338 Quotations from the Fathers^ [chap. v. 
his will, that he should know better things, he- 
has given him the power to be able to do what he 
chooses."— Vol. 1. p. 849. 

** A thing does not happen because it was 
foreknown; but it was foreknown because it 
would happen. This distinction is necessary. 
For if any one so interprets what was to happen, 
as to make what was foreknown necessary, we do 
not agree with him ; for we do not say, that it 
was necessary for Judas to be a traitor, although 
it was foreknown that Judas would be a traitor. 
For in the prophecies concerning Judas there are 
complaints and accusations against him, publicly 
proclaiming the circumstances of his blame ; but 
he would be free from blame, if he had been a 
traitor through necessity, and if it had been im- 
possible for liim to be like the other Apostles." — • 
Vol. 2. p. 11. 

" Observe how the prophet says* * And now, 
Israel, what doth the Lord require of thee (c) 
Let these words make those ashamed, who deny, 
that man has the power of being saved. How 
could God require of man, unless man had in his 
power what he ought to offer to God, when He 
requires it ? Some things therefore are given by 
God, and some are supplied by man." — Vol. 2. 
P« 314. 

" In 

(c) Dcut. c. xo. v. it. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 339 

In the great house of this world there are 
not only golden and silver vessels, but also 
wooden and earthen ones ; and some are to honour, 
and others to dishonour ; both however are neces- 
sary. But because these vessels, of which we 
speak, are to be considered as rational, and en- 
dowed with free-will, every one is made a vessel 
of honour, or a vessel of dishonour, not by acci- 
dent or chance ; but he who makes himself such, 
that he deserves to be chosen, is made a chosen 
vessel or a vessel of honour. But he who lives 
under the influence of unworthy and base senses, 
is formed a vessel of dishonour, the causes of his 
dishonour arising not from the Creator, but from 
himself." — Vol. 2. p. 323. 

" The soul is endowed with free-will, and is 
at liberty to incline either way; and therefore 
the judgement of God is just, because the human 
soul, of its own accord, obeys either good or bad 
advisers." — Vol. 2. p. 350. 

" The virtue of a rational creature is mixed, 
arising from his own free-will, and the Divine 
Power conspiring with him who chooses that 
which is good. But there is need of our own 
free-will, and of divine co-operation, which does 
not defend upon our will, not only to become 
good and virtuous, but also after we become so, 
that we may persevere in virtue; since even a 
z 2 person 



# 

340 Quotations from the Fathcrs ys [chap, fa 
person who is made perfect will fall away, if he 
be elated by his virtue, and ascribe the whole to 
himself, not referring the due glory to Him who 
contributes by far die greater share, both in the 
acquisition of virtue, and in the perseverance in 
it." — Vol. 2. p. 571. 

CYPRIAN-*. A. D. 
Benedict. Edit. 

" Nor should any one wonder that a servant 
of Christ, set over his flock, is deserted by some, 
since our Lord himself was deserted by Lis dis- 
ciples at the very time he was performing the 
greatest miracles, and displaying the power of 
God the Father, by the testimony of mighty 
works. And yet he did not reprove those who 
left him, or threaten them severely, but rather, 
turning to the Apostles, said, ' Will ye also go 
away ( d) ? ' preserving the law by which man, 
being left to his own liberty, and endowed with 
free-will, seeks for himself death or salvation." — 
p. 82. 

" That in baptism the old man dies, and the 
new man is born, the blessed Apostle shews and 
proves, when he says, he has saved us by the 
washing of regeneration. If regeneration be in 
the washing, that is, in baptism," &c. — p. 140. 

" If 

(d) John, c. 6. v. 67. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 341 

" If the day rises equally to all, and if the 
sun shines upon all with even and equal light, 
how much more does Christ, the true sun and 
day, give the light of eternal life, in his Church, 
with impartial equality. Of which equality we see 
that a symbol was displayed in the Exodus, when 
the manna descended from heaven, and, prefigur- 
ing future things, pointed out the food of heavenly 
bread, and the meat of Christ, who was to come. 
For there, without any discrimination either of sex 
or of age, a gomar was equally gathered by each 
person. Whence it appeared, that the favour of 
Christ, and the heavenly grace hereafter to fol- 
low, are equally divided to all, without any regard 
to the difference of sex, without any discrimination 
of age, without any respect of persons : that the gift 
of spiritual grace is poured upon all the people 
of God. The same spiritual grace, which is re- 
ceived in an equal degree by believers at their 
baptism, is evidently afterwards either diminished 
or increased by our own conversation and conduct ; 
as in the Gospel the seed mentioned by our Lord 
is sown equally, but according to the variety of 
the soil, some is wasted, and some increases to 
thirty-fold, or sixty-fold, or an hundred-fold." — ■ 
P- 157. 

fC .That a man has free will to believe or not 
2 3 to 



342 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. r. 

to believe, in Deuteronomy, ' I have set before 
you life and death, blessing and cursing : there- 
fore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may 
Xvre(e)? Also in Isaiah, 'If ye be willing and 
obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land ; but 
if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with 
the sword ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken 
it (fj. 9 Also in St. Luke's Gospel, ' The kingdom 
of God is within you' (g)" — p. 319. 

LACTANTIUS— A. D. 306. 
Dufresnoy's Edition, 

" But because God is merciful and kind to* 
wards his creatures, he sent him (Christ) to those 
very persons whom he hated, that the way of 
salvation might not be for ever shut against them ; 
but that he might give them a free power to fol- 
low God, that they might obtain the reward of 
life, if they did follow him, which many of them 
do, and have done : and that through their own 
fault they might incur the punishment of death, 
if they should reject their King. Therefore he 
ordered him to be born again among them, and 
of their seed, lest if he had been a stranger, they 
might out of their law have set up a reasonable 

pretence 

(e) Deut. c. 30. v. 19. (f) Is. c, 1. v. 19, 20, 
(g) Luke, c. 17. v.21. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 343 
pretence for not receiving him ; and at the same 
time that there might be no nation upon earth, 
to whom the hope of immortality was denied." — 
Vol. 1. p. 299. 

" We of every sex, race, and age, enter upon 
this heavenly journey, because God, who is the 
guide of this way, denies immortality to no hu- 
man being who is born into the world,"— Vol. 1. 
P. 437, - 

EUSEBIUS — A. D. 315, 
Prcep. Evang. — Paris, 1628. 

" So that it must be altogether acknowledged, 
that we have liberty, and the free-will of a rational 
and intelligent nature." — p. 245, 

" The Creator of all things has impressed a 
natural law upon the soul of every man, as an 
assistant and ally in his conduct, pointing out to 
him the right way by this law ; but, by the free 
liberty with which he is endowed, making the 
choice of what is best worthy of praise and ac- 
ceptance, and of greater rewards, on account of 
his good conduct, because he has acted rightly, 
not by force, but from his own free-will, when ha 
had it in his power to act otherwise. As, again, 
making him who chooses what is worst, deserving 
of blame and punishment, as having by his own 
motion neglected the natural law, and becoming 
z 4 the 



344 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v. 

the origin , and fountain of wickedness, and mis- 
using himself, not from any extraneous necessity, 
but from free-will and judgement. The fault is 
in him who chooses, not in God. For God has 
not made nature or the substance of the soul 
bad ; for he who is good can make nothing but 
what is good. Every thing is good which is 
according to nature. Everv rational soul has 
naturally a good free-will, formed for the choice 
vf what is good. But when a man acts wrongly, 
nature is not to be blamed ; for what is wrong, 
takes place not according to nature, but contrary 
to nature, it being the work of choice, and not of 
nature. For when a person who had the power 
of choosing what is good, did not choose it, but 
voluntarily turned away from what is best, pur- 
suing what was worst ; what room foi escape could 
be left to him who is become the cause of his own 
internal disease, having neglected the innate law, 
as it were his Saviour and Physician ?" — p. 250, 

ATHANASIUS — A. D. 326. 
Benedictine Edition. 

tc For the knowledge, and accurate compre- 
hension of the way of truth, we have need of 
nothing but ourselves. Not, as God is above all 
things, so is the w ay which leads to these things 

remote* 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets cf Calvinism. 345 
remote, or extraneous to ourselves, but it is m 
ourselves, and it is possible to find its beginning 
of ourselves." — Vol. 1. p. 29. 

Speaking of Christ being born of the Virgin Mary, 
he says, "Having thus taken a body from our 
race, because ail men were subject to the cor- 
ruption of death, giving it to death for all men, he 
offered it to the Father ; doing this mercifully ; 
that all men, as it were dying in him, the law 
respecting the corruption of man, might be abo- 
lished. 1 ' — Vol. 1. p. 54. 

" It was necessary that what was due from all 
should be paid ; for death was a debt due from 
all, as I have before mentioned. For this cause 
principally he came : and on this account, after 
proof by deeds concerning his divinity, he offered 
a sacrifice for all, delivering up his temple to 
death instead of all, 'that he might make all re- 
leased and free from the old transgression/' — i 
Vol. 1. p. 64. 

" He took a body for the salvation of all men, 
and instructed the world concerning the Father, 
and abolished death, and gave incorruption to 
all men by the promise of the resurrection." — • 
Vol. 1. p. 75. 

" By his death salvation came to all, and 
every creature was ransomed. He is the life of 
all, even he, who like a sheep gave up his own 

body 



546 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 
body to death, as a ransom for the salvation of 
all." — Vol. l f p. 79, — There are many more 
passages in the same treatise to the same effect. 

" He suffers no where else, nor is he crucified 
at any other place, but at Calvary, which the 
teachers of the Hebrews say was the burial place 

of Adam For it was necessary that the 

Lord, being willing to renew the first Adam, 
should suffer in that place, that, expiating his sin, 
he might take away , sin from all the race."— 
Vol. 3. p. 90. 

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM — A. D. 348. 
Benedictine Edition, 

41 e All things work together for good to them 
that love God(h)* For God is abundant in 
doing good ; but he expects the sincere free-will 
of every one. Therefore the Apostle added, say^ 
ing, • to them who are called according to his 
purpose.' The existence of a sincere purpose 
- makes you called : for if you have your body here, 
and not your mind, it profiteth nothing."- — p. 2. 

" God requires nothing else of us but a good 
will. Do not say, how are my sins blotted out ? 
I say to you, by willing, by believing. What can 
be more concise than this ? But if your lips de*. 

clare 

(h) Rom. c. 8. v. 28, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 347 

clare a willingness, and your heart does not, he 
who judges, knows the heart. From this day 
therefore eease from every evil work. Let not 
your tongue utter irreverent words ; let not your 
eyes sin : let not your thoughts wander about vain 
things.'' — p. 6. 

" It belongs to me to speak, to you to give 
attention, to God to make perfect. Let us 
strengthen our minds, let us brace up our soul, 
let us prepare our heart. The race is for life ; 
the hope is for everlasting things. God (who 
knows our hearts, and discerns who is sincere 
and who is a hypocrite) is able to preserve the 
sincere, and to make th£ hypocrite faithful. For 
God is able to make even the unbeliever a be- 
liever, if he will but give his heart." — p. 13. 

" Have, O man, a sincere soul, on account of 
him who searcheth the heart and the reins (i). 
For as those who are about to enlist soldiers, 
examine the ages and persons of those whom 
they enlist, so the Lord also in choosing souls for 
his service, examines the will, and if any one has 
a concealed hypocrisy, he immediately rejects 
him as unfit for true service. But if he finds a 
person worthy, he readily gives him grace. He 
does not give that which is holy to the dogs (7c J. 

But 

(i) Ps. 7. v. 9. (k) Matt. c. 7. v. 6. 



348 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
But where he sees a g;ood conscience, there he 
gives the wonderful seal of salvation, at which the 
devils tremble, and which the angels acknowledge; 
so that the former being driven away, fly from it, 
but the latter embrace it as their own. Those 
therefore who receive this spiritual and saving 
seal, have need also of their own free choice ; for 
as a writing-pen, or a weapon, has need of one to 
act with it, so grace also has need of those who 
believe. You receive not a corruptible, but a 
spiritual armour. You are afterwards planted 
into an intellectual Paradise. You receive a new 
name which you had aiot before. Before this 
you were a Catechumen ; now you shall be called 
one of the faithful (I). You are then transplant- 
ed into intellectual olives, being engrafted from 
a wild olive into a fruitful one, from sin unto 
righteousness, from filthiness unto purity. You 
are made partaker of the holy vine : and if you 
remain in the vine, you w ill grow like a fruitful 
branch ; but if you do not remain, you w ill be 
consumed with fire. Let us then bring forth 
fruit worthily. For, God forbid that it should 
happen to us as it did to the barren fig-tree, that 
Christ when he comes should even now curse us 
fbr our barrenness. But may every one of us 

say, 

(I) That is, after baptism. 



i tHAP.v.] opposed to the Tenets of 'Calvinism. 349 

say* ■ I am like a green olive-tree in the house 
of God, my trust is in the tender mercy of God 
for ever and ever ( m) ; an olive-tree not the ob- 
ject of sense, but intellectual, bearing light. It 
belongs therefore to him to plant and to water, 
but to you to bring forth fruit. It belongs to 
God to give grace, but to you to receive and to 
preserve it. Do not therefore despise the grace, 
because it is given freely, but having received it, 
preserve it with reverence." — p. 17. 

" Obey therefore, O children of righteousness, 
John exhorting and saying, \ Make straight the 
way of the Lord ( n) Take away all impedi- 
ments, and stumbling-blocks, that you may go 
straight to eternal life. Prepare the vessels of 
your soul pure, through a sincere faith for the 
reception of the Holy Spirit. Begin to wash your 
garments, through repentance, that being called 
into the bride-chamber, you may be found pure. 
For the Bridegroom calls all indiscriminately, 
since grace is abundant, and the loud voice of the 
heralds collects all together. But he himself after- 
wards makes a distinction between those who 
have entered into the typical marriage. God 
forbid that any one of those whose names have 
been enrolled, should now be thus addressed, — 
* Friend, how earnest thou in hither, not having a 

wedding- 

(m) Ps. 52. v. S. (n) J oho, c, 1. v. 23. 



350 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
\vedding*garment (o)V But may you all be thus 
addressed — ■ Well done, thou good and faithful 
servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things* 
I will make thee ruler over many things : enter 
thou into the joy of thy Lord (p).' For hitherto 
you stood without the- gate. But you may all 
say, c The king hath brought me into his cham- 
bers (q).' 'Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; 
for he hath clothed me with the garments of sal- 
vation, and with the robes of gladness ; as a bride- 
groom he hath placed a tiara on my head, and as 
a bride he hath decked me with ornaments ( r)' 
That the soul of every one of you may be found 
* not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ( s )* 
I do not say before you receive grace (for how 
could that be, you who are called for the remission 
of sins), but that after grace is given, your con- 1 
science, being found without condemnation, may 
concur with grace." — p. 39. 

" The worship of God consists of these two 
parts, pious doctrine and good works. Neither 
are doctrines without good works acceptable to 
God, nor does he accept works unless they be 
united with pious doctrines. For what advantage 
is there in rightly knowing the doctrines concern- 
ing 

(0) Matt. c. 22. v. 12. (p) Matt. c. 25. v. 21. 

(q) Song of Solomon, c. 1. v. 4. 

(r) Is. c. 61. v. 10. (s) Eph. c. 5, v. 27. 



c hap. vj opposed to the Tenets ofCahimsm. 35 1 
tug God, if you be shamefully guilty of fornica- 
tion ? Again, what good is there in being properly 
chaste, and impiously blasphemous ? The know- 
ledge of doctrines is therefore an acquisition of 
the greatest importance, and there is need of a 
sober and watchful mind, since many spoil others 
through philosophy and vain deceit." — p. 52, 

" After the knowledge of this venerable, glori* 
ous, and holy faith, next know also yourself, 
what you are, that you are formed a man, con- 
sisting of two parts, soul and body ; and, as was 
just now observed, that the same God is Creator 
both of soul and body. And know that you have 
a soul endowed with free-will, the most excellent 
work of God, after the image Uxt iI-awv) of him 
who made it immortal, through God who made it 
immortal, a living substance, rational, incorrupt- 
ible through him who bestowed these qualities 

upon it, having power to do what it will , 

Learn also this, that the soul before it came into 
this world, committed no sin, but having come 
sinless, we now sin through our free-will. Listen 
not to any one who puts a bad interpretation 
upon this passage, ' If I do that which I would 
not (t ) ; but remember him who says, ' If ye 
be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of 
the land ; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be 

devoured 

(t) Rom, c, 7, y. 16, 



35-2 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, V* 

devoured with the sword/ &c. ( u). And, again^ 
' As ye have yielded your members servants 'to 
imcleanness and to iniquity, unto iniquity ; even 
so now yield your meaibers servants to righteous- 
ness, unto holiness Qv)." 1 And remember the 
scripture which says, ' As they did not like to 
retain God in their knowledge (y) : And c that 
which may be known of God, is manifest in 
them (z) : ' Their eyes have they closed ( a) i 
And again remember how God complains and 
says, ' I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly 
a right seed : how then art thou turned into the 
degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me(b).' 
The soul has free- w ill ; the devil in- 
deed may suggest, but he has not also power to 
compel contrary to the will. He suggests the 
thought of fornication ; if you be willing, you ac- 
cept it ; if unwilling, you do not accept it. For 
if you committed fornication by necessity, why 
did God prepare hell ? If you acted justly by 
nature, and not according to } r our own free choice, 
w r hy did God prepare unutterable rewards?" — 
p. 60. 

" Abraham w T as justified not by works only) 
but by faith alfo. For he did many things rightly, 

but 

(u) Isa. c. 1. v. 19, 20. (x) Rom. c. 6. v. 19. 
(y) Rom. c. I. v. 28. (z) Rom. c. I. v. 19. 
(a) Matt. c. 13. v. 15. (b) Jer, c. 2. v. 21. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 353 

but he was never called the Friend of God, except 
after he had believed. And every work of his 
was made perfect according to faith. Through 
faith he left his parents, through faith he left his 
native country, his place of residence, and his 
home. As therefore he was justified, be ye also 
justified. " — p. 74. 

" Even if you have no faith, or have but little 
faith, the Lord is merciful and assists you, if you 
repent. Only say yourself, with a proper feelingj 

* Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (CjJ 
If you think that you believe* but have not yet the 
perfection of faith, you must say with the Apostles* 

* Lord, increase our faith ( d For you have 
something from yourself, but you receive much 
from him. 5 '— p. 76; 

" Does not Jesus hinlself say, * For this cause 
speak I to them in parables * that seeing they 
might not see (e) £ Did he wish them not to see^ 
because he hated them ? or because they were 
unworthy, since ' they closed their own eyes (f) V 
For where there is voluntary wickedriess, there 
too is withholding of grace : ' For unto every one 
that hath, shall be given ; but from him that hath 

notj 

(c) Mark, c. 9. v. 24. (d) Luke, c. 17. v. 5. 
(e) Luke, c. 8. v. 10. (//Matt. c. 13. v. ifr 
A A 



354 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, y* 

not, shall be taken away even that which he 
seemeth to have' ( g)" — p. 1 05. 

" Tire glory of the Crass enlightened those 
who were blind through ignorance, loosed all who 
were bound by their sins, and redeemed the whole 
human race. And wonder not that the whole 
world was redeemed ; for it was not a mere man, 
but the only-begotten Son of God who died for 
that purpose. The sin indeed of one man, Adam, 
was able to bring death upon the world. ' But 
if by the offence of one man, death reigned over 
the world (h),' how shall not life rather reign by 
the righteousness of one ? And if by the eating 
of the tree they were cast out of Paradise, shall 
not those who believe, more easily enter into Para- 
dise through the tree of Jesus ? If the first man. 
formed out of the earth, brpught universal death, 
does not he who formed him out of the earth, 
being himself the life.(i), bring everlasting life 

" Since death came by one man, life also cams 
by one man ; by one man, namely the Saviour, 
who voluntarily submitted to death. For re- 
member what he said, c I have power to lay 
down my life, and I have power to take it 

again/ 

(g) Luke, c. 8. v, 18. (h) Rom, €. 5. v. 17. 
(i) John* c« {.«$• v, 6. 



fcHAP. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 355 

again (k)? But he endured these things, having 
some for the salvation of all men." — p. 196, 

klLARY— A. D. 354 
Benedict. Edit'. 

" God, not because he wanted his assistance 
in any thing, but because he is good, created man 
to be a partaker of his blessedness, and formed 
him a rational animal with life and sense, for the 
purpose of bestowing his eternity upon him. 
And this is absolutely understood from his words ; 
* And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God 
require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul 5 to keep 
the commandments of thy Lord, and his statutes 
which I command thee this day for thy good (I) ? 7 
God requires no obedience of us but that of in- 
nocence, and religion, and faith. He requires 
that he may be beloved by us, not himself deriving 
any advantage from our love of him, but our- 
selves, who love him, being benefited by this love. 
For he requires to be beloved and obeyed for 
our good, that we may be thought worthy of the 
gift of his blessedness, and his goodness, through 
the merit of his love and obedience. But the use 
cif goodness, like the brightness of the sun 5 or the 

light 

(k) John, c. 10. v, 18. (I) Deut. c. 10, v. 12, 13, 
A A 3 



g5§ Quotations from the Fathe?*s, [chap, r* 
fight of fire, or the smell of juices, does not profit 
the giver, but him who uses it. What, therefore, 
we are, is rather our own gain, than his who 
formed us what we are; because God, not 
grudging his own eternal goodness, takes us into 
the perception and use of his own blessed good- 
ness. But he who is perfect and good used his 
goodness towards us, and his blessedness, not 
without reason and method. For he permitted 
to every one of us the liberty of life and sense, 
not fixing necessity either way, so that the law- 
should compel every one to be by nature good or 
bad ; but he who had benevolently created us to 
enjoy his blessedness, appointed us a qualification 
for it, through the merit of an innocent and honest 
life. For what honour and reward could the 
necessity of goodness deserve, when a certain 
force, interwoven in our nature, would not suffer 
as to be bad? Goodness therefore is permitted ~ 
to the will ; that the will of goodness might ob- 
tain to itself a reward ; and that there might be 
a gain and enjoyment of this eternal blessedness 
from merit, and not an indiscriminate necessity 
by law. And though he invited us to the will of 
goodness, that is, to live well and honestly, by the 
hope of deserving and experiencing his goodness, 
yet he added a punishment for shunning and 
despising it; so that when he bad left us a liberty 
%$ of 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tends of Calvlnhm. 357 
of will to deserve goodness, because a necessity 
of nature did not admit of desert, the terror of 
punishment threatened on the other hand proved 
this very liberty. And thus liberty was permitted 
for the deserving of reward, with a due regard 
to equity and justice ; and the power of liberty 
is, through the goodness of God, restrained by 
the fear communicated to us ; that the hope of 
deserving might admonish us to a good will, and 
the punishment of appointed revenge might dis« 
Buade us from a bad will." — p, 34. 

" * My trust is in the tender mercy of God for 
ever and ever (m )J For even those very works 
of righteousness will not be sufficient for the de- 
serving of perfect bliss, unless the mercy of God 
also does not consider the faults of human changes 
and motions in mis will of righteousness. Hence 
that saying of the Prophet, * Thy loving kindness 
is better than the life itself Because al- 

though the life of just men is to be proved through 
the working of righteousness, yet it will obtain 
more merit through the mercy of God. For after 
this life, it is profitable to eternal life, and the 
mercy of God so far rewards the working of 
righteousness, that, compassionating the will of 
righteousness, it grants that every just person 

should 



(m) Ps. 51. v. 9. (n) Ps. 63* v. 4. 

A A 3 



358 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

should be partaker of his eternity also. There? 
fore the trust in his tender mercy is for ever and 
ever ; but the confession only in this life, not for 
ever and ever. For the confession of sins is only 
during this life, while every one is left to his own 
will, and has the power of confession through the 
permission of life. For when we depart out of 
this life, we depart at the same time from the 
right of will. For then according to the merit of 
the past will, the law already fixed, either of rest or 
of punishment, receives the will of those whq 
depart out of the body. And that the will at that 
time is not free, but necessary, the Prophet shew§ 
•when he says, c I have no will in those daysfoj/ 
For when the, liberty of the will ceases, the effect 
also of the will, if there be any, will cease. For 
the rich man, wishing to pass to Abraham, is not 
allowed, because of the gulf which i§ between 
them, when however he might have been in Abra- 
ham's bosom by the liberty of his will." p. 81. 
—Here it is expressly declared, that a per- 
son, who in Scripture is represented as suffering 
punishment in the world to come, had it in his 
power to avoid that punishment ; which is utterly 

irreconcilable 

f 0) ei Non occurrit nobis unde hunc locum eruerit 
Hilarius, nisi forte, Mai. 1. iq, pro h legerit, ft 
fyte§cu$" Note in Jkned. Ed, 



«h a p. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism.* 359 

irreconcilable with Calvin's doctrine of predesti- 
nation. 

" 4 The ungodly are froward even from their 
mothers womb : as soon as they are born, they go 
astray, and speak liesf/jj.' Thus Esau was 
froward from his mothers womb, when it is 
announced that the elder shall serve the younger, 
even before he was born ; God not being ignorant 
of the future will, when the speaking of lies, and 
error of life, are from the mother's womb ; he 
himself rather knowing this, than any one being 
born to the necessity and nature of sin. And 
that it might not be possible to impute the fault 
to their origin, he reproaches them with the crime 
of previously hardening their will against obe- 
dience : ' They are as venomous as the poison of 
a serpent, even like the deaf adder that stoppeth 
her ears ; which refuseth to hear the voice of the 
charmer, charm he never so wisely fj^.' The 
excuse of a certain natural necessity in crimes is 
not admitted. For the serpent might have been 
innocent, who himself stops his ears that they may 
t>e deaf." — p. 123. 

" ' His eyes behold the people ( f)3 For the 
face of God is turned away from every one who 

continues 

(}) Ps. 58. v. 3. (q) Ps. 58. y. 4, |. 

(r) Ps. 66. v. 6, 

A A 4 



360 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 

continues in sin. For this turning of God is 
signified as being without change ; not that he 
turns this way or that, like a bodily substance, 
but that always remaining uniformly the same, 
he affords or does not afford his assistance, 
according to the difference of merit." — p. 178. 

" Faith is the duty of the soul and heart, and 
is a thing of the internal will." — p. 182. 

c< There is not any necessity of sin in the 
nature of men, but the practice of sin arises from 
the desire of the will, and the pleasure of vice." — 
p. 219. 

But perhaps some one, through this religious 
modesty of the Prophet, will dare to say thus 
impiously; If, says he, all things are from God, 
then human ignorance is free from blame, because 
it can obtain nothing but what it receives, as 
given by God. And in the first place this is an 
impious sentiment, that a person should think he 
does not obtain those things which belong to 
believers, because he is not indulged with them 
by God. But the Prophet has removed all 
occasion of this impious excuse. For, first, when 
a person prays, he has performed a duty suitable 
to his weakness ; then he has connected the exer- 
tions of human devotion, with the gifts of God. 
For when he says ; ' Teach me, O Lord, the way 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 36* 

of thy statutes fsj,' he shews, by the humility of 
his prayer, what belongs to God. But when In 
subjoined, ( And I shall keep it unto the end/ he 
declared the duty of his devotion. And in other 
things also he has bound both together by a 
jnutual connexion, when he requested to be led 
into the path, and when he himself wished for it. 
For he placed with honour those things first which 
are from God, and then he added those things 
which are of man, with a confession of humility 
and duty. He prays therefore God to give. The 
beginning therefore is from ourselves, when we 
pray that the gift may be from him : then, because 
it is his gift in consequence of our beginning, it is 
again our act that it is sought, and obtained, and 
that it continues." — p, 275. 

" Although a perfect understanding is from 
God, yet we must begin from ourselves, that we 
may be able to deserve perfect understanding. 
For all things are shut up by God to those who 
do not begin of themselves." — p. 320. 

" Lest what is often wont to be said by many 
persons should have some authority of reason, 
who assert, that it is the peculiar gift of God, that 
any one is conversant in the things and works of 
God, excusing their own infidelity, because they 
remain faithless from the want of God s good will 

towards 

(sj Ps. 119. x. pt. 5* 



Quotations from the Fathers, [c#ap. r, 
towards jthem ; perseverance in faith is iqdeecj tho 
gift of God, but the beginning is from ourselves, 
And oiir will ought to have this property from 
itself, namely, that it exerts itself. God will give 
increase to the beginning, because pur weakness 
does not obtain consummatipn of itself ; yet the 
merit of obtaining consummation is from the 
beginning of the will. Therefore the Prophet 
thus concluded the Psalm, ' I have applied my 
heart to fulfil thy statutes alway ; even unto the 
end f t )' He himself applies his heart, and turns 
it from the sins of human nature to the obedience 
of God. Nature, indeed, and the origin of the 
flesh, detained him : but will and religion, apply 
Jiis heart to the works of the statutes, from that in 
which he would have remained from the fault of 
]]is origin. And he applies his heart at every I 
moment of his life; not at some definite time, but 
at every period of his life.'"— p. 328,, 

" Human weakness is incompetent to obtain 
any thing of itself • and this only is the duty of its 
nature, that it should be wiping to begin to form 
itself into the family of God. It belongs to the 
mercy of God to assist those whq are willing, to 
confirm those who begin, to receive these whq 
{some. But the beginning is from ourselves, that 
.he may perfect it."— p. 339. 

66 < Let 

(tj Ps. 119, v. 8.pt 14, 



pHAP. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 363 
" £ Let thine hand help me ; for I have chosen 
thy commandments^,/.' While some choose 
the glory pf this world, while others worship the 
elements and daemons, while others desire earthly 
riches, this holy person chose the commmand- 
ments of God. But he chose, not from natural 
necessity, but from a pious will ; because to every 
pne is offered the way of living which he shall 
prefer, and every one has the liberty of desiring, 
and of acting. And on that account the choice 
pf every one will be punished or rewarded.'' — t 
p. 366. 

" He is good in whom we hope ; and hope is 
to be placed- in him, because he is merciful, 
because there is abundant redemption with him, 
for he redeemed all mankind from all their 
iniquities (redemit ab omnibus iniquitatibus 3ui^ 
universos)." — p. 442. 

" Righteousness has this mtfdesty, that what- 
ever bliss it hopes for, it should ask it rather from 
the bounty (magnificentia) of God (because it is 
worthy of God to give blessed and eternal and 
good things) than fromlts own merit. But never? 
theiess, in preferring the honour and mercy of 
pod, it did not exclude the merit of deserving it,, 
from itself." — p. 550. 

11 * Many will say to me in that day, have we 

not 

(u) Ps, 119. v. 5. pt, 22, 



$64 Quotations from the Fathers, [chaf. r. 

not prophesied in thy name (x) ? 9 And what 
follows ? Even now he condemns the deceit of 
false prophets, and the pretences of hypocrites* 
who assume to themselves glory from the power 
of the Word, in the prophecy of learning, and the 
casting out of devils, and other mighty works of 
that kind ; and hence they promise themselves the 
Jdngdom of heaven. As if any of those things 
are their own, which they say or do, and tjie 
power of God when invoked does not do them 

all . Therefore that blessed eternity, is to 

be claimed from our own qualifications; and 
something is to be done from ourselves, that we 
may will that which is good, and avoid all evil, 
and obey heavenly precepts with all our disposi- 
tion : and by such duties become known to God, 
and do what ne wills, rather than glory in his 
power."— -p. 639- 

" The Son gives the honour received from the 
Father to all those who are about to believe in 
him, not the will : if that were given, faith would 
have no reward, since the necessity of a fixed 
will would produce faith in us." — p. 953. 

EPIPHANIUS«-A. I>. 
Tetaviuis Edition — a. d. 168$. 

44 Although Scripture declared^ that Christ 
would be crucified, and although divine Scripture 

mentioned 

(x) Matt. c. 7. v, aa. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 365 

mentioned the sins which would be committed by 
us in the latter days, yet no one of us who commit 
sin can find an excuse, by producing the Testimony 
of Scripture, foretelling that these things would 
happen. For we do not those things because 
Scripture foretold them; but Scripture foretold 
them, because we were about to do them, through 
the foreknowledge ofOod." — p. 281. 

" How does he seem to retain the freedom of 
his will in this world ? For to believe or not to 
believe is in our own power. But where it is in 
our power to believe or not to believe, it is in 
our power to act rightly or to sin ; to do good or 
to do evil." — p. 575. 

BASIL— A. D. 370. 

Be&eddctine Edition. 

iX These things are in our own power, as, to 
Mibdue the passions, or to indulge in pleasures ; 
as, to restrain anger, or to attack him who pro- 
vokes us ; to speak truth or falsehood : to be meek 
and gentle, or proud and overbearing. Do no£ 
then seek the origin of those things of which you 
are yourself the master horn any other quarter ; 
but know that that which is in itself evil derived 
its Qrigin from voluntary lapses. For if it had 
been involuntary, and not in our own power, 

those 



366 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v; 
those who act unjustly would not have had st* 
great fear of the laws hanging over them/ — 
Vol. i . p. 1 6. 

" They attribute to the heavenly bodies the 
causes of those things which depend upon every 
one's choice, I mean the habits of virtue or vice." 
Vol l. p. 56. 

" If the origin of vicious and virtuous actions be 
not in ourselves, but there is an innate necessity, 
there is no need of legislators to prescribe what' 
we are to do and what we are to avoid ; there i§ 
no need of judges to honour virtue and to punish 
wickedness. For it is not the injustice of the 
thief or of the murderer, who could not restrain 
his hand even if he would, because of the insuper- 
able necessity which urges him to the actions." — ■ 
Vol. 3. p. 56. 

" There are virtues belonging to us according 
to nature, with which the soul is familiar, not front 
instruction of men, but from Nature herself. For 
as no reasoning teaches us to hate illness, but we 
have a spontaneous dislike of the things which 
give us- pain, so there is in the soul a certain' 
untaught declination from evil/' — Vol 1 . p. 83. 

" The Lord will take away strength from a; 
sinful people, but he gives strength to those who 
act justly, 6 For unto every one that hath, shall be 

given £ 



ISHA p. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 367 

given (y ) ; but he who is enabled to do good 
works becomes worthy of a blessing from God/' 
Vol 1. p. 123. 

" God by his own will gives life to every one j 
but every one treasures up for himself wrath, in 
the day of wrath, and of revelation, and of the just 
judgement of God."— Vol. 1. p. 127. 

" It is not difficult for us, if we be willing, to 
love righteousness, and to hate injustice. For 
God has suitably given every faculty to the 
rational soul, as of love, so likewise of hatred, 
that, being directed by reason, we may love 
virtue and hate wickedness." — Vol. 1. p. 166. 

u It is impossible that we should be capable of 
divine grace, if we have not expelled the wicked 
passions which took possession of our souls," — 
Vol. i. p, 196. 

" What then does he say ? That secretly within 
every one of us a certain balance is provided by 
our Creator, by which we may discriminate the 
nature of things. ' I have set before thee life 
and good; death and ev\\(z) ; two natures op- 
posite to each other. Weigh then in your own 
private tribunal ; consider accurately, which is 
more profitable for you, whether to choose plea- 
sure for a time, and through it to have everlasting 
death ; or choosing affliction in the exercise of 

virtue, 

(y) Matt. c. 25. v. 29. (%) Ddyt. c. 30. v« 15. 



' 368 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, 

virtue, to be introduced by it to everlasting enjoy- 
ment. Men are liars, having corrupt judgements 
in their minds, whom the Prophet pities, saying, 
* Woe unto them that put darkness for light, and 
light for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and 
sweet for bitter ( a )J Present things, says a per- 
son, are within my reach, but who knows what 
will be hereafter ? You weigh things ill in pre- 
ferring bad things to good, vain things to true, 
temporal things to eternal, in choosing transitory 
pleasure, rather than continued and endless joys. 
The sons of men are deceitful hi the balance of 
injustice. They injure first themselves, then 
their neighbours ; being bad counsellors to them- 
selves in their own conduct, and a miserable 
example to others. You will not be allowed to 
say in the day of judgements I did not know what 
was good. You are furnished with your own 
balance, which affords you a sufficient discrimina- 
tion between good and evil. Bodily weights are 
estimated by scales ; but what is eligible in life, 
we discern by the free-will of our minds, wnich 
is calfed a balance, because it is capable of inclin- 
ing either way." — Vol. i. p. 197. 1 

" Every rational creature is capable of virtue, 
and of vice." — -Vol. 1. p. 297. 

" Animals are created with a natural forma- 
tion 

(a) Is. c. 5^v. 2C, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 369 

tion "suited to them, and they enter upon life pro- 
vided with limbs, but they become diseased when 
perverted to an unnatural use. For they lo«^ 
their health either through a bad diet, or from any 
other cause which brings on illness. Therefore 
God made the body, but not illness. And so 
God made the soul, bat not sin; but the soul 
became disordered when turned from its natural 
state. What then was its chief good ? An adhe- 
rence to God, and union with him through love ; 
failing in which, it became disordered with various 
infirmities. But why was it at all capable of 
evil? Because of its free-will, which is particu- 
larly suited to a rational nature. For being 
exempt from all necessity, and enjoying a free- 
will from its Creator, being made in the image of 
God, it understands what is good, and knows the 
enjoyment of it; and while it continues in the 
contemplation of what is good, and the enjoyment 
of intellectual things, it has power to preserve its 
life, agreeably to nature ; but it has also a power 
to decline from what is good."' — Vol 2. p. 78. 

" You well know, that both our good will 
towards you, and the co-operation of God, de- 
pend upon your own wills, which being directed 
to that which is right, God will be present with 
you as an assistant, whether called upon or not." 
Vol. 3. p. 432. 

B b u Above 



370 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

" Above all things I exhort you to remember 
the faith of the Fathers, and not to be shaken by 
those who would disturb you in your retreat; 
knowing that neither correctness of life of itself, 
unless enlightened by faith towards God, is pro- 
fitable, nor that a right confession of faith without 
good works will be able to recommend you to the 
Lord; but both must concur, that the man of 
God may be perfect, and that our life may not 
be defective in any respect : for the faith which 
saves us, as the Apostle says, worketh by lovef b )" 
Vol. 3. p. 433. 

" We exhort you to remember the Lord, and 
having always before your eyes your departure 
out of this world, so to regulate your life, of which 
you must give an account to an infallible Judge, 
that you may have confidence in good works, 
before him who will reveal the secrets of your 
hearts, in the day of his visitation.'' — Vol. 3. 
P. 434. 

GREGORY OF NAZIANZCJM— A. D. 370. 
Paris Edition- a, b. 1630. 

f. How great ought the contest to be consi- 
dered by us, the salvation of whose blessed and 
immortal souls is at stake, which will be eternally 

punished 

(b) Gal. c. 5. v.- 6. 



g hap. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 371 

punished or commended, for vice or virtue."™ 
Vol. 1. p. 13. 

Speaking of the sufferings of Christ, he says, 
" By which we were created anew, not, one man 
and not another, but all who partook of the same 
Adam, a'nd were deceived by the serpent, and by 
sin were made subject to death, and were saved 
again by the heavenly Adam, and were restored 
to the tree of life, from whence we had fallen by 
the tree of dishonour." — Vol. 1. p. 436. 

" As works are not accepted without faith, 
as many do what is right for the sake of glory, 
or from natural disposition, so faith without 
works is dead. And let no one deceive you by 
the vain reasoning of those, who readily grant 
every thing for the single purpose of adopting 
impious doctrines, and propose a trifling reward 
for a trifling thing. Shew therefore faith by 
works, the produce of your soul, if we have not 
sown in vain." — Vol. 1 . p. 476, 

" When you hear ' These to whom it is given/ 
add, It is given to those who are called, and who 
are so disposed. For when you hear, ■ It is not 
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but 
of God that sheweth mercy (c), I advise you to 
suppose the same thing. For because there are 
some so proud of their virtue, as to attribute 

every 

(c) Rom.c. 9, v. 16, 

B B 2 



372 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

every thing to themselves, and nothing to Him 
who made them, and gave them wisdom, and is 
the author of good, this expression teaches them 
that a right will stands in need of assistance from 
God ; or rather the very desire of what is right is 
something divine, and the gift of the mercy of 
God. For we have need both of power over 
ourselves, and of salvation from God. Therefore, 
says he, It is not of him that willeth, that is, not 
of him only that willeth, nor of him only that 
runneth, but of God thatsheweth mercy. Since 
the will itself is from God, he with reason attri- 
butes every thing to God. However much you 
run, however much you contend, you stand in 
need of him who gives the crown. ' Except the 
Lord build the house, their labour is but lost that 
build it: except the Lord keep the city, the 
watchman waketh but in vainf d)' I know, says 
he, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle 
to the strong ; nor is the victory to those who fight, 
nor the harbour to those who sail well : but it is 
of God both to work the victory, and to preserve 
the vessel into port. And what I have said and 
explained in another place, it may be necessary to 
add to what has been now mentioned, that I may 
impart my riches to you. The mother of the 
,sons of Zebedee ........ asked Jesus that one 

might 

(d) Ps. 127. v. u 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 373 

might sit on his right hand, and the other on his 
left : but what did our Saviour answer ? First he 
asks, whether they can drink of the cup of which 
he was about to drink. And when they declared 
that they could, the Saviour admitted it ; for he 
knew that they too were perfected by it, or rather 
that they would be perfected : What does he say 
further ? They shall indeed drink of the cup ; but 
to sit on my right hand, and on my left, this is not 
mine to give ; but those to whom it is given. Is 
then your guide, the understanding, nothing? Is 
labour nothing ? Is reason nothing? Is philosophy 
nothing ? Is fasting nothing ? Is watching no- 
thing ? Lying on the ground ? Shedding rivers of 
tears ? Are these things nothing ? But is Jeremiah 
sanctified, and are others froward from their 
mothers womb by a certain casting of lots ? I 
fear lest this absurd idea should be adopted, as 
if the soul had existed in some other place, and, 
afterwards, was united to this body ; some receiv- 
ing the gift of prophecy according to its conduct 
there, and those w ho had lived wickedly being 
condemned. But, since this hypothesis is very 
absurd, and not agreeable to the doctrine of the 
Church (for let others sport about these opinions, 
but such sporting is not safe for us) ; to the expres- 
sion also in this place, ' To whom it is given/ 
add, who are willing ; who have not only received 
£ £ 3 that 



374 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 

that qualification from the Father, but have also 
given it to themselves .......... The good de- 
rived from nature has no claim to acceptance ; 
but that which proceeds from free-will is deserv- 
ing of praise. What merit has fire in burning ? 
For the burning comes from nature. What merit 
has water in descending ? For this it has from the 
Creator. What merit has snow in being cold ? 
Or, the sun in shining ? For it shines whether it 
will or not. Give me a virtuous wilL Give me 
the becoming spiritual, from, being carnal; the 
being raised by reason, from being depressed by 
the weight of the flesh ; the being found heavenly, 
from having been low-minded; the appearing 
superior to the flesh, after having been bound to 
the flesh."— Vol. i. p. 504. 

" This is the grace and power of baptism ; not 
bringing a deluge upon the world, as formerly, 
but purifying every one from his sins, and entirely 
removing the obstructions or spots which are 
caused by wickedness ...... To speak in few 

words, we are to consider the power of baptism 
as a contract with God for a second life, and a 

more pure conversation . there being no 

second regeneration"- — Vol 1. p. 641, 

■ e Upon this foundation of doctrines build 
good works, since faith without works is dead ; as 
&re works without faith," — Vol. 1. p. 672, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 375 



GREGORY OF NYSSA. 
Paris Edit. — 1638. 

ik Let any one consider, how great is the faci- 
lity to what is bad, gliding into sin spontaneously 
without any effort For that any one should 
become wicked, depends solely upon choice ; and 
the will is often sufficient for the completion of 
wickedness.'" — Vol. 2. p. 304. 

a ' The Lord came to seek and to save that which 
was lostf ej." But not the body was lost, but the 
whole man, consisting also of soul. And to speak 
more truly, the soul was lost before the body. For 
disobedience is the sin of the will, not of the body. 
But will is the property of the soul, from which 
every calamity of nature had its beginning," — 
Vol. % p. 4S2. 

" Since man was made in the likeness of God, 
and was blessed in being honoured with free-will 
(for to have power over himself, and to be subject 
to no master, is peculiar to the blessedness of God) 
to be forcibly impelled to any thing by necessity, 
would have deprived him of this dignity. For if 
voluntarily, according to the motion of free-will, 
they directed their human nature to any thing 
improper, and were driven from it forcibly and 
by necessity, such a proceeding would have taken 

awav 

(e) Luke, c. 19. v. 10. 
B B 4 



376 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

away from them the preeminent good, and would 
have deprived them of the honour of being tike to 
God. For free-will is likeness to God. There- 
fore, that both power might remain to human 
nature, and that evil might be done away, the 
wisdom of God devised this mode, to suffer man 
to pursue those things which he wished ; that 
having tasted the evils which he desired, and 
learnt by experience what exchange he had made, 
he might voluntarily return by his own desire to 
his former blessedness, shaking off from his nature 
every thing which disturbs the passions or is in- 
consistent with reason, as a burden."- — Vol. 3. 
p. 634. 

AMBROSE— A. D. 374,. 
Benedict, Edit, 

" The danger from what is external to us, is 
not greater than the danger from ourselves : The 
adversary is within, the .author of error is within, 
shut up, I say, within ourselves. Consider your 
intention, explore the habit of your mind, keep 
a guard upon the thoughts and desires of your 
heart. You are the cause of your own wicked- 
ness ; you lead yourself into vice, you stir up 
yourself to crimes : Why do you call in a foreign 
nature to excuse your failings ? I wish you did 
not impel yourself ; I wish you did not run head- 
12 long; 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 377 

-iong; I wish you did not involve yourself either 
in immoderate desires, or indignation, or lusts, 
which keep us as it were entangled in nets. And 
it certainly is in our own power to moderate our 
desires, to curb anger, to restrain lusts; it is in 
our power also to indulge luxury, to foster our 
lusts, to inflame anger, or to listen to him who 
inflames it, to be puffed up with pride, to be 
abandoned to cruelty rather than be repressed 

by humility, and love gentleness , . . . 

Those things are to be guarded against, which 
proceed from our own will, the sins of youth, and 
the irrational passions of the body. Let us not 
search without ourselves for the principles of those 
things, of which we are ourselves the masters \ 
let us not impute to others, but acknowledge, 
those things which are properly our own. For 
we ought to ascribe to ourselves rather than to 
others the election of that evil, which we have in 
our own power not to do, unless our will con- 
sents."— Vol. 1. p. 18. 

- ' The Lord Jesus came to save all sinners ; it 
was right that he should shew his will even with 
respect to the ungodly ; and therefore it was 
right that he should not pass over even him who 
was to betray him ; that all might observe, that in 
the choice of his traitor, he displayed a sign that 
all were to be saved. Nor had either Adam 

reason 



378 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

reason to complain that he received the command, 
or Judas that he was chosen. For God did not 
impose upon the one the necessity of transgression, 
or upon the other that of treason ; because both 
might have abstained from sin, if they had pre- 
served that which they had received. Finally, 
he knew that all the Jews would not believe, and 
yet he said, I am not come except to the lost 
sheep of Israel. Therefore there is no fault in 
him who commands, but there is sin in him who 
transgresses. And as far as was in God, he 
shewed to all, that he desired to deliver all. I do 
not however say that he did not know that there 
would be transgression ; nay, I assert, that he 
did know it." — Vol. i . p. 1 6 1 . 

" He who according to expectation came for 
the salvation of all men, was born of a virgin for 
me, was offered up for me, tasted death for me, 
rose again for me. In whom all men were re- 
deemed, all men rise again He saw that 

those who are diseased cannot be saved without 
a remed} 7 , and therefore he afforded a medicine 
to the sick. Therefore he brought the assistance 
of health to all ; so. that whosoever shall perish, 
may ascribe the cause of his death to himself, who 
was unwilling to be cured when he had a remedy, 
by which he might have escaped, but that the 
manifest mercy of Christ towards all men may be 

proclaimed^ 



chap, v,] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 379 

proclaimed, since they who perish, perish through 
their own negligence, but those who are saved, are 
delivered according to the sentence of Christ, who 
' will have all men to "be saved, and come unto 
the knowledge of the truth' (f)T — Vol. 1 . p. 2 1 0. 

" The law is twofold, natural and written ; 
natural, in the heart ; written, in tablets. There- 
fore, all are under the law, namely, the natural 
law. But k does not happen, that every one is 
a law to himself. But he is a law to himself, 
who spontaneously does those things which are of 
the law, and shew r s that the work of the law is 
written in his heart. You have the good things 
pf the law, which however we ought not only to 
know or to hear cursorily, but also to dp. For 
the hearers of the law are not just before God, 
jDut the doers of the law shall be justified." — 1 
Vol. 1. p. 423. 

" We are not constrained to obedience by a 
servile necessity, but by free-will, whether we 
lean to virtue or are inclined to vice."— Vol. 1. 
p. 443- 

" No one is under any obligation to comntit a 
fault, unless he inclines to it, from his own will." 
Vol. 1. p. 447. 

" God desires to be the cause of salvation to 
all, not of death : He repels no one, except him 

who 

(J) 1 Tim, c. 2. v, 4. 



380 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

who chooses to withhold himself from his si^ht." 
Vol i. p. 672. 

" The Lord knows who are his. He wishes all 
to be his, whom he hath formed and created. I 
wish, O man, that you would not fly, and that 
you would not hide yourself from Christ. He 
even seeks those who fly, and wishes those who 
hide themselves not to perish ; but he cries out 
i Adam, where are your' that is, O man where 
are you ? I have placed you in light, you have 
sought out darkness." — Vol. 1. p. 865. 

" Every soul is called to the grace of Christ, 
the word of God itself saying, If any one thirst, 
let him come unto me, and drink ; to whom I 
shall give water, out of his belly shall flow rivers 
of living water (gj." — Vol. i. p. 930. 

" The mystical Sun of Righteousness is risen 
upon all, is come for all, has suffered for all, and 
has arisen again for all : he therefore suffered that 
he might take away the sin of the world. But if 
any one does not believe in Chris t> he defrauds 
himself of the general benefit, just as if any one 
should exclude the rays of the sun by shutting his 
windows." — Vol. 1. p. 1077. 

" God says to Moses, 6 I will have mercy on 
whom I will have mercy, and I will have com- 
passion on whom I will have compassion. So 

then 

(V;john, c. 7. v. 37, 38. 



€HAP- v. J opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 381 
then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that 
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy (h).' 
Perhaps you may say, we ought then neither 
to will, nor to run : but God is wont to desert 
those who are negligent ; therefore this is not his 
meaning. But let us consider what he does mean : 
Perseverance is not of the man who willeth, or of 
him who runneth ; for it is not in the power of 
man : but it is of God, who pitieth, that you may 
be able to complete what you have begun.'' — 
Vol. 1. p. 1098. 

" You see, because the power of God every 
where co-operates with the endeavours of man, 
that nobody can build a house without the Lord, 
nobody can keep a city without tke Lord, no- 
body can begin any thing without the Lord/' — 
Vol. 1. p. 1309. 

"We ought to advert to the mercy of God, 
because he condemns no . one himself first, but 
every one is the author of his own punishment" 
Vol. 1. p. 1394. 

" The good Lord requires exertion, he supplies 
strength." — Vol. 1 . p. 1400. 

" Faith has eternal life, because it is a good 
foundation ; so likewise have good works, be- 
cause a just man is proved both by words, and 
deeds. For if he be practiced in words, and idle 

m 

(h) Rom. c.9, v. 15, 16. 



382 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. y. 

in works, he in fact exposes his own want of 
prudence ; and it is a greater fault to know what 
to do, and not to have done what you knew ought 
to have been done. On the other hand also, to 
be active in works and without faith in disposi- 
tion, is as if you were to erect a beautiful and 
lofty superstructure upon a faulty foundation : the 
more you build, the heavier is the fall ; because 
good works cannot continue without the support 
of faith."— Vol. 2. p. 72. 

In commenting upon our Saviour's answer to 
the request of the mother of Zebedee's children, 
* To sit on my right hand, ana on my left, is not 
mine to give, but it shall be given to them for 
whom it is prepared of my Father (i),' he ob- 
serves, that " Christ added, c for whom it is pre- 
pared,' that he might shew, that the Father is not 
wont to attend to petitions, but to merits, because 
God is no respecter of persons. Whence also 
the Apostle says, 6 Whom he did foreknow, he also 
did predestinate (h)\ for he did not predestinate 
before he foreknew, but he predestinated the 
rewards of those whose merits he foreknew." — - 
Vol. 2. p. 565. 

u All the divine gifts cannot be in every indi- 
vidual man. Every one receives that which he 
either desires, or deserves, according to his 
capacity."— Vol. 2.. p. 663. 

" In 

(i) Matt, c. 20, v. 23. (kj Rom. c. 8. v. 29. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 383 
" In the day of judgement^ our works will either 
assist us, or, like a mill-stone, will sink us to the 
bottom."— Vol. 2. p. 758. 

JEROME— A. D. 392. 
Benedict. Edit. 

iC The washing away of former sins, the grace 
of baptism, the secret doctrine, are not sufficient, 
unless we have works also. 1 '— Vol. 2. p. 584. 

" Man, from the beginning of his condition, 
has God as an assistant; and since it was of his 
grace that he was created, and it is of his mercy 
that he subsists and lives, he can do no good work 
without him, who has so granted free-will, that 
he did not refuse his grace in any single work."— 
Vol. 2. p. 696. 

" I saw that both the just man suffers many 
things here, and that the ungodly man has rule 
for his wickedness. But afterwards communing 
with my heart, and considering, I understood 
that God does not now judge separately and indi- 
vidually, but that he reserves judgement to a future 
time, that all may be judged equally, and then 
receive according to their will and their works." — - 
Vol. 2. p. 735. 

Jerome, in commenting upon Eccl. c. 5. v. 6. 
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin,' 

says, 



384 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. % 

says, " It appears to me that in this passage those 
are reproved, who complain of the sinfulness of the 
flesh, and say, that being compelled by the neces- 
sity of the body, they do those things which they 
ar© unwilling to do ; according to the Apostle, 
1 The good that I would, I do not ; but the evil 
which I would not, that I do (l).' Do not, 
therefore, he says, seek vain excuses, and give 
occasion to your flesh to sin, and say, It is not I 
that sin, but the sin that dwells in my flesh."— 
Vol. 2. p. 743. 

" The more we (enquire, the more evident will 
our vanity be, and that words are superfluous, 
and that free-will is not taken away by the pre- 
science of God, but that in every effect there are 
antecedent causes." — Vol. 2. p. 748. 

" Do not think that there are only good, or only 
bad things in the world, since this world consists 
of different things, contrary to each other, hot 
and cold, dry and moist, hard and soft, dark and 
light, bad and good. But God has done this, 
that wisdom may be displayed in choosing good, 
and avoiding evil, and that free-will may be left 
to man." — Vol. 2. p. 752. 

" ' If ye he willing and obedient, ye shall eat 
the good of the land ; but if ye refuse and rebel, 
ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the 

mouth 

(I) Rom. c. 7. v. 19^ 



ch ap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 385 

mouth of the Lord hath spoken \t(rn): he pre- 
serves free-will that either way there may be either 
punishment or reward, not from an antecedent 
decree of God, but according to the merit of 
.every individual.'' — Vol. 3, p. 16, 

" No seed is of itself bad, for God made all 
things good ; but bad seed has arisen from those, 
who by their own will are bad, which happens by 
will, not by nature." — Vol. 3. p. 162. 

" It is not sufficient to have the will of Faith, 
unless faith itself be confirmed by good works." — 
Vol. 3. p. 216. 

" Let us ask those who assert that there are 
different natures, whether Babylon be of a good 
or of a bad nature. If they say, of a bad, which 
they would doubtless answer,- how is it invited to 
repentance?" Then after quoting several passages 
from Isaiah xlvii. relating to the sins and punish- 
ment of Babylon, he says, tc From whence it is 
evident, that they who are good by nature, become 
bad by will. Lastly, it is inferred, man has 
erred in himself, not by nature, but through the 
will."— Vol. 3. p. 346. 

In commenting upon Isaiah xlix, he says, c< All 
these things are said, that he might shew the free- 
will of man. For it belongs to God to call, and 
to us to believe ; nor does it follow, if we Jo not 

believe, 

(m) Is. c. 1. v. 19, 2c, 
Cc 



386 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
believe, that God has not power ; but he leaves 
his power to our free-will, that the choice of 
what is right may obtain a reward." — Vol. 3. 
P- 35 1. 

" At a suitable time he poured out his blood 
for all ; 6 When all had gone out of the way, they 
had together become unprofitable (n)! i There 
was not one that did good, no not one ; so that 
he tasted death for all, because all have sinned, 
and come short of the glory of God ( ).' — Vol. 3. 
P- 379; 

In commenting upon Isaiah Ivii. he says; " A 
question arises, how children are called the 
children cf perdition, in opposition to those who 
maintain that there are different natures ; the one 
which is lost, and bad, and cannot be saved ; 
and the other good, which cannot perish. For if, 
as they think, the sons of perdition be of a bad 
nature, how is that found which was before lost ? 
Lastly, in the parable of the penitents, both the 
sheep which was lost out of a hundred sheep, and 
the piece of money which was lost out of ten pieces 
of money, are found ; and the lost son is found, 
of whom the father said to the elder son, 4 This 
thy brother was dead, and is alive again ; and 
was lost, and is found fpj. 3 For nothing is lost, 

except 

(n) Rom. c. 3. v. 12. (c) Rom. c. 3. v. 12. 23, 
(p) Liike,c. 15. v. 32. 



Chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 387 

except what was before safe ; and nothing dies, 
except what was before alive. Therefore Aose 
who are now called the sons of perdition or of 
iniquity, and of wickedness, have, through their 
own fault, forsaken the Lord, and from 'die sons 
of the Lord have begun to he the sons of perdition ; 
this same Prophet saying 1 You have forsaken 
the Lord, you have provoked the Holy One of 
Israel unto .anger' (q ). n — Vol. 3. p. 417. 

c ' This they did from their own will, because 
the choice of good or evil rests with our own free- 
will."— Vol. 3. p. 418- 

<£ So that the gates of the church are always 
open, and are shut neither by day nor by night ; 
that they are continually open to those who de- 
sire to be saved, that is, that an entrance is not 
denied to those who are willing to believe in it, in 
joy and in tribulation." — Vol. 3. p. 451. 

" He will save those who have received salva- 
tion, not bv the merit of works, but bv the love of 
God. ' For God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life (r)! But if a reflecting reader should answ er 
in silent thought, why are many not saved, if he 
himself saved them, and loved, and spared his 
own sons, and redeemed them with his own 

blood, 

(q) Is. c. I. v. 4. (r) John, c. 3 v. 16. 
C C 2 



388 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. y» 

blood, and raised and exalted these whom he 
took ? A clear reason is assigned ; they themselves 
did not believe, and they vexed his Holy Spirit* 
God therefore was willing to- save those whe« 
wish to be saved ; and he invited them to salva- 
tion, that the will might have a reward; but 
they were unwilling to believe.'* — V0I.3. p. 468. 

" ' A voice was heard upon the high places, 
weeping, and supplications of the children of 
Israel : for they have perverted their way, and 
they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return,, 
ye backsliding children, and I will heal your 
backslidings (sJ. J God v> illingly receives the 
penitent, and meets the son wasted by want and? 
in filthiness ; and puts upon him his former robes*, 
and gives glory to him when he returns, provided! 
only he returns in weeping and lamentation. For 
by his own fault he made his way wicked, and' 
forgot his Lord and Father ; to whom he speaks 
in prophetic language, Return, ye backsliding chil- 
dren, whom therefore I call children:, because, 
convinced of your sins, you return to your parent 
in weeping and lamentation. And when^ says 
he, you shall return to the Lord, he shall heal 
all your contritions and backslidings, by which 
you had departed from the Lord, For though^ 
through your own will you return to the Lord^ 

yet 

(s) Jcr. C, 3* Y*.%lr%2, 



ch ap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 389 
yet unless he shall draw you, and strengthen your 
desire by his support, you will not be able to fee 
saved."— Vol. 3. p. 545^ 

" Through our own will we do not receive the 
word of God^ and therefore it becomes a re- 
proach to us, that what was given us for salvation, 
through our own fault, is converted into punish- 
ment." — Vol. 3. p. 560. 

In commenting upon Jeremiah xviii. he says, 
p The Lord says to the Prophet, ' If the potter has 
power, of the same clay again to make a vessel 
which was marred, shall I not be able to do this 
in you who seem to have perished, as far as de- 
pended upon yourselves ? ' And that he might 
«hew free-will, he says that he announces botfr 
evil and good to this or that nation or kingdom ; 
but nevertheless, that the thing which he foretells 
4oes not happen, but that the contrary happens ; 
so that both good ^befalls the wicked, if they re- 
pent; and evil befalls the good, if, after the 
promises are made, they turn unto sin. And 
this we say, not that God is ignorant that a 
nation or a kingdom will do this or that ; but that 
he leaves man to his own will, that he may re- 
ceive either rewards ;or punishments, according 
to his own will and his own merit. Nor does it 
follow that the whole of what will happen will be 
#f man, but of his grace, wfeo has given all things. 

c c 3 For 



390 Quotations front the Fathers, [chap. v. 

For the freedom of the will is so to be reserved, 
that the grace of the Giver may excel in all things, 
according.to the saying of the Prophet, ' Except 
the Lord build the house, their labour is but lost 
that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the 
watchman waketh but in vain (t)' ' It is not of 
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of 
God that sheweth mercy 5 (u — Vol. 3. p. 615. 

In commenting upon Jeremiah xxi. which re- 
lates to the siege and capture of Jerusalem by 
Nebuchadnezzar, he says " Not that he was 
ignorant that the city of Jerusalem would be taken, 
but that free-will might be preserved to man ; that 
they might seem to perish not from ignorance of 
•what would happen, but from their own will. As 
our Saviour also knew that the Apostle would 
den 7 him, and that he should be crucified, which 
he had often foretold to the Apostles. Never- 
theless he warned them, being willing to correct 
them to repentance ; so that whatever they after- 
wards endured, happened to them from their own 
fault, and not from the severity of him who 
threatened." — Vol. 3. p. 626. 

In commenting upon Jeremiah xxvi. 3. • If so 
be they will hearken, and turn every man from 
his evil way he says, i( The doubtful expression 
If so be, cannot suit the majesty of the Lord, but 

he 

Q) Ps. 127. v. r ? 2. (u) Rom. c. 9. v, i6, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 391 
he speaks after our manner, (sed nostro loquitur 
afrectu), that free-will may be preserved to man, 
lest from God's prescience, man should be com- 
pelled to do, or not to do, a thing, as by necessity. 
For a thins; does not happen, because God knew 
it would happen ; but because it would happen lie 
knew it, being' endowed with the prescience of 
the future." — Vol. 3. p. 653. 

" And thou shah say unto them, - Thus saith. 
the Lord God : And they, whether they will hear, 
or whether they will forbear, (for they are a re- 
bellious house) yet shall know, that there hath 
been a prophet among them (■&)'*. In like man- 
ner Jeremiah writes, ' If so be they will hearken, 
and turn every man from his evil way.' And in 
the Gospel, c It may be they will reverence my 
Sonfj/J.' But God speaks these things in the 
manner of a person doubting (ambigentis afrectu) 
that he may point out the free-will of man ; lest 
the foreknowledge of future evil or good should 
make that immutable which God knew would 
happen. For it is not necessary that we should 
do what he foreknew, because he knew it would 
happen ; but because we were about to do it by 
our own free-will, he, as God, knew it would 
happen." — Vol. 3. p. 711. 

4t ' Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked 

should 

(x) Ezek. c. 2. v. 4, 5. (y) Luke, c. 20, v. 13. 
c c 4 



392 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

should die ? saith the Lord God : and not that he 
should return from his ways, and live (z) ? * 
Therefore • it i3 the will of God that all men 
should be saved, and come to the knowledge of 
the truth' (a)°~Vol 3. p. 826. 

" Because Nebuchadnezzar received a reward 
of his good work (b) 9 we understand that even 
the heathen, if they shall do any tiling good, are 
not passed over in the j udgement of God without 
reward." — Vol. 3. p. 909. 

In commenting upon Ezek. xxxiii. 7^ &c. he 
says, " From which words we learn that a man 
though wicked and impious, may be saved from 
his impiety, if he will listen to the words of his 
master, and repent ; and that a master incurs no 
less danger if he refuses to teach, either through 
fear of danger or despair of the sinner, while he is 
guilty of the blood of him, who might have been ( 
delivered and rescued from death, if he had not 
fallen through the silence of the master ; and that; 
free-will is preserved in both; while it depends 
upon the will of the master either to be silent, or 
to speak, and upon the will of the hearer either to 
attend, and to do, and to be saved, or to despise, 
and to perish through his contempt." — Vol. 3. 
P-935. 

" He 

( z) Ezek. c. 18. v. 23. (a) 1 Tim, c. 2. v. 4. 
(b) Ezek. c. 29. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 393 

" He took the human body, and through sir* 
destroyed sin ; who is grieved for us, and bears? 
our infirmities , . . . for all the people of the 
earth, .that is, for the whole human race. For 
he is the Saviour of all men, and chiefly of the 
faithful; and he is the propitiation for our sins, 
and not for ours only, but for the whole world."—* 
Vol. 3. p. 1044. 

" ' Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, mui*v 
ders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, 
blasphemies ; these are the things which defile a 
man; but to eat with unwashen hands, defileth not 
a man ( c) : Evil thoughts, he says, proceed from 
the heart ; and from this expression they may be 
refuted, who think that thoughts are sent by the 
devil, and do not arise from our own will. The 
devil may be the promoter and inflamer of bad 
thoughts ; he cannot be the author of them."—- 
Vol. 4. part 1. p. 69, 

u The Son of Man came to give his life a 
ransom ' for many ( d),* when he took the form 
of a servant, that he might shed his blood for the 
world. He did not say to give his soul a re- 
demption for all, but for many, that is, for those 
who should be willing to believe."— Vol. 4* 
part 1. p. 93. 

" He gave them free-will ; he gave them the 

liberty 

(c) Matt, c. 15. v. 19, 20. (d) Matt. e. 20. v, a8» ' 



394 Quotations frdm the Fathers, [chap. v. 
liberty of their own mind, and that every one 
might live, not under the absolute command of 
God, but under his own direction ; that is, not by 
necessity, but by will, that there might t>e room 
for virtue, that we might be distinguished from 
other animals, while, after the example of God, 
it was permitted us to do what we will. Whence 
both the judgement against sinners is equitable, 
and a just reward is given to the holy or just." — 
Vol. 4. part 1. p. 1,51. 

" God alone is incapable of sin; other beings, 
having free-will (in which respect man was made 
after the image and likeness of God), may turn 
their will either way."' — Vol. 4. part 1. p. 159. 

" What does that reasoning of the Apostle 
mean, in his Epistle to the Romans ; £ What shall 
we sav then? Is there unrighteousness with God? 

J o 

God forbid!' down to that passage where he 
says ' Except the God of Sabaoth had left us a 
seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made 
like unto Gomorrha (e).\ Indeed the whole 
Epistle to the Romans stands^ in need of explana- 
tion, and is involved in so great obscurities, that 
to understand it we have need of the Holy Ghost, 
who dictated these things by the Apostle: but 
particularly this passage, in which some, wishing 
to preserve the justice of God, say, that, from 

antecedent 

(e) Rom. c. 9. v. 14 — 29. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 395 

antecedent causes, Jacob was chosen in the womb 
of Rebecca, and Esau rejected (f) : as Jeremiah, 
also, and John the Baptist, are chosen in the 
womb fg), and the Apostle Paul himself is pre- 
destinated to the Gospel before he is born. But 
nothing satisfies us, except what has the authority 
of the church, and what we do not scruple to say 

publicly in the church Let us therefore 

apeak as well as we can, and, following the steps 
of the Apostle's will, let us not depart from his 
sentiments a point, or the breadth of a finger, as 
-the saying -is. He had wept above, and had 
called upon the Holy Spirit to witness his sorrow 
and conscience, that his brethren and kinsmen 
according to the flesh, that is, the Israelites, 
had not received the Son of God ; ' to whom 
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the 
covenants, and the giving of the law, and the 
service of God, and the promises (h ) :' from whom 
also Christ himself was born according to the 
flesh of the Virgin Mary ; and he is so tortured 
by the constant grief of heart, that he wishes him- 
self to be accursed from Christ 1 that is, to perish 
alone, that all the nation of the Israelites might 
not perish. And because he had said this, he 
immediately foresaw a question which would be 

brought 

(f) Gen. c. 25. (g) Jcr. c. I. Luke, 1. 

(b) Rom.c 9. v. 4, 



396 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. r # 

brought against him. What then do you say? 
Have all who are of Israel perished ? And how 
have you yourself, and the rest of the Apostles, and 
an infinite multitude of the Jewish people, received 
Christ the Son of God? Which he thus solves. 
In the Holy Scriptures Israel is mentioned in a 
twofold manner, and is divided into two sons; 
into one which is according to the flesh, and into 
another which is according to the promise and 
the Spirit. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and 
Isaac : Ishmael, who was born according to the 
flesh, did not receive the inheritance of his father : 
Isaac, who was born of Sarah, according to the 
promise, is called the Seed of God. For it is 
written, * In Isaac shall thy seed be called (ij ; 
that is, those who are the sons of the flesh, are 
not the sons of God ; but those who are the sons 
of promise, they are reckoned in the seed. And 
m$ prove that this happened not only in Ishmael 
and Isaac, but also in the two sons of Rebecca, 
Esau and Jacob, one of whom was rejected, and 
the other chosen. And he says all this, that he 
may shew that the people of the Jews were 
■rejected in the two «lder brothers, Ishmael and 
Esau ; but that in the two younger, Isaac and 
Jacob, the Gentiles were chosen, or those of the 
Jews who were about to believe in Christ. And 

because^ 

f) Gen. c. 21. v. 32, 



tttAF, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 39 f 
because, in wishing ta prove this, he had pro- 
posed the testimony of twins at their birth, Esau? 
and Jacob, of whom it is written, ' The elder 
shall serve the younger (k) y and in Malachi we 
read, * I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau ;' ac- 
cording to his manner, he proposes and discusser 
a collateral question; and having solved it, he 
returns to that which he had begun to discuss. 
If Esau and Jacob were not yet born, and had 
done neither good nor evil, so as either to please 
or offend God, and their election and rejection da 
not shew the merits of the individuals, but the, 
will of him who chooses' and rejects ; what thea 
shall we say ? Is God unjust, according to what 
he says to Moses, 1 1 will have mercy on whom? 
I will have mercy, and I will have compassion 
on whom I will have compassion * If, says 
he, we admit this, that God does whatever he 
wills, and either elects or eondemns a person, 
without merit or works, then * it is not of him 
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God 
that sheweth mercy :' particularly since the same 
Scripture, that is, the same God, says to Pharaoh, 
* Even for this same purpose have I raised thee, 
up, that I might shew my power in thee, and 
that my name might he declared through all the 
sarth^/^. 5 If this is so, and. he pities Israel, and 

hardens.; 

(h) Gen, c. 25. v. 23. (I) Rom, c. 9. 15. 
(m) Rom. c> 9. v» 17. 



398 Quotations from the father^ [chap, f, 
^hardens Pharaoh according to his will, he without 
reason complains, and accuses us, for either not 
having done what was good, or having done evil ; 
when it was in his power and will either to elect 
or reject a person without good or bad works, 
especially since human weakness cannot resist his- 
will. Which strong question, grounded upon 
.Scripture, and which can scarcely be solved, the 
Apostle solves in a short sentence, saying, 6 O man, 
who art thou that repliest against God (n)V 
And the meaning is r because you reply to God^ 
and cavil, and ask such great things concerning 
the Scriptures, so that you speak against God, 
and accuse the justice of his will, you shew that 
you have free-will, and that you do what you like, 
either are silent or speak. For if you think that 
you are created by God, like an earthen vessel, 
and that you cannot resist his will, consider this, 
that the earthen vessel does not say to the potter, 
Why did you make me thus ? For the potter has 
power of the same clay, or of the same lump, to 
make one vessel for honour, another for dis- 
honour. But God has formed all men with an 
equal lot, and has given them free-will, so that 
every one does what he wills, either good or evil, 
But so far has he given power to all, that the im- 
pious voice disputes against its Creator, and ques- 
tions 

(n) Rom» c. 9. v. 20. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 399 
tibns the causes of his will. 6 What, if God 
willing' — Rom. ix. 22. and what follows. I£ 
says he, the patience of God hardened Pharaoh, 
and for a long time postponed the punish- 
ment of Israel, that he might more justly con- 
demn those whom he had borne with so long, 
the patience of God, and his infinite mercy, are 
not to be accused, but the hard-heartedness of 
those who abused the goodness of God to their 
own destruction. Moreover, the heat of the sua 
is the same, and according to the qualities ex- 
posed to it, it melts some things, hardens others, 
loosens others, binds others. For wax is melted, 
and clay is hardened, and yet the nature of the 
heat is not different. So also the goodness and 
mercy of God harden the vessels of wrath, which 
are fit for destruction, that is, the people of 
Israel ; but the vessels of mercy, which he has 
prepared for glory, which he hath called, that U 
us, who are not only of the Jews, but also of the 
Gentiles, he does not save irrationally, and with- 
out the truth of judgement, but from antecedent, 
causes ; because some have not received the Son 
of Go<£, but others have been willing to receive 
him of their own accord. But these vessels of 
mercy are not only Gentiles, but also those of 
the Jews who are willing to believe; and one 
people of believers is formed. From which it ap- 
1 2 pears, 



400 Quofations from the Fathers [chap, v.- 

pears, that not nations, but the wills of men, are 
elected/*— Vol. 4. parti, p. 180. — After thus 
explaining this passage, according to the doctrine 
of the church, he blames some commentator, 
who maintained, that God did what he willed, 
that he might be merciful to some, and severe 
to others. 

In commenting upon this passage, ' We are 
unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that 
are saved, and in them that perish : to the one 
we are the savour of death unto death ; and to 
the other the savour of life unto life ( 0) : he sup- 
poses some one to ask, why all men did not be- 
lieve ? To which he answers, " We are unto God 
the sweet savour of the name of Christ, in every 
place, and the fragrance of our preaching breathes 
far and wide. But because men are left to their 
free-will, and they do good, not by necessity, but 
by will, so that those who believe may receive a 
reward, but those who do not believe may be 
punished ; therefore our savour, which is of itself 
good, by the virtue and by the fault of those who 
do receive, or do not receive it, passes into life or 
death ; so that those who have believed, are saved, 
but those who have not believed, perish. Nor is 
this to be wondered at, concerning the Apostle, 
since we read also concerning our Lord, ' Behold, 

this 

(c) 2 Cor. c. 2. v. 15 & 16. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 401 

this child is set for the fall and rising again of 
many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be 
spoken against^ p)' And clean, as well as unclean 
places, receive the rays of the sun, and they 
shine upon flowers, as they do upon dung ; but 
the rays of the sun are not polluted. So also the 
sweet savour of Christ, which can never be 
changed or lose its nature, is life to those who 
believe, death to those who do not believe."— 
Vol. 4. part 1. p. 184. 

" £ Knowing that a man is not justified by the 
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ 
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we 
might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not 
by the works of the law.' Some persons say, if 
this be true, which Paul affirms, that no one is 
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith 
of Jesus Christ, it follows, that the patriarchs, 
and the Prophets, and Saints who lived before the 
eoming of Christ, were imperfect. We ought to 
admonish these persons, that those are here said 
not to have attained righteousness, who think 
that they are justified by works only; but that 
the Saints who were in former times, were jus- 
tified by the faith of Christ, since Abraham saw 
the clay of Christ, and rejoiced (q): and Moses 

6 esteemed 
(p) Luke, c.2. v. 34. (q) John, c. 8. y. 56. 
D D 



402 Quotatiom from the Fathers, [chap, v., 
e esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches 
than the treasures of Egypt ; for he had respect 
unto the recompence of the reward (rj. 9 And 
Isaiah saw the glory of Christ, as John the Evan- 
gelist relates ; and Jude says generally of all, ' I 
will put you in remembrance, though ye once 
knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the 
people oat of the land of Egypt, afterwards 
destroyed them that believed not (s) 9 Whence, 
not so much the works of the law are condemned, 
as those who trust they may be justified by works 
only." — Vol. 4. part 1. p. 245. 

" 4 As many as are of the works of the law, are 
under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is 
every one that continueth not in all things which 
are written in the book of the law to do them ( t)S 
But because nobody can fulfil the law, and do all 
things which are commanded, the Apostle testifies 
in another place, ( What the law could not do, 
in that it was weak through the flesh, God, send- 
ing his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and 
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (u ) : If this 
be true, it may be objected to us, Are therefore 
Moses and Isaiah^ and the other Prophets, who 
were under the works of the law, under the 
curse ? Which no one will hesitate to acknowledge, 
who shall read these words of the Apostle, 

6 Christ 

(?) Heb, c. 11. v. 26. (s) Jude, v. 5. 
(tj Gal, c. 3. v. 10. (u) Rom. e. 8. v. 3. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 403 
£ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the 
law, being made a curse for us far) :' And he will 
further answer, that every one of the Saints was 
in his time made a curse for the people. And in 
attributing this to just men also, he will not seem 
to detract from our Saviour, as if he had nothing: 
peculiar and excellent, being made a curse for us, 
when the rest also were made a curse for others. 
For no one of those, although he was himself 
made a curse, delivered any one from a curse, 
except the Lord Jesus Christ alone, who by his 
precious blood redeemed both all us and them, 
I mean Moses and Aaron, and all the Prophets 
and patriarchs, from the curse of the law. And 
do not consider this as my interpretation; the 
Scripture itself bears testimony ; ' Because Christ 
died for all (y) :' But if for all, for Moses also, 
and for all the Prophets, no one of whom could 
blot out the ancient hand-writing, which was writ- 
ten against us, and fix it to the Cross. ' All have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God (k) \ 
Ecclesiastes also, confirming 'this sentence, says, 
* There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth 
good and sinneth not (a )? Lastly, what the 
Apostle afterwards says, clearly shews, that 

neither 

(ot) Gal. c. 3. v. 13. (y) 2 Cor. c. 5, v. 14. 
(%) Rom. c. 3. v. 23. (a) Eccles. c. vii. v. 20. 
D D 2 



404 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. 
neither Moses, nor any other illustrious person 
among the antients, could be justified before God 
through the law." — Vol. 4. part 1. p. 257. 

" ' This persuasion cometh not of him that 
calleth you (b)\ for there is one work of God, 
another of men : it is the work of God to call ; of 
men either to believe, or not to believe : and so 
the free-will of man is asserted in other passages 
of Scripture, as it is there, c If ye will obey my 
voice (cjj And again, 'And. now., Israel, what i 
doth the Lord thy God require of thee (d)V 
And from the passage before us it is particularly 
proved. Whether, therefore, with respect to 
good or evil, neither God, nor the devil is the - 
cause of it, because our persuasion cometh not 
of him that calleth, but from ourselves, wha 
cither consent, or do not consent to him that 
calleth." — Vol. 4. part 1. p. 290. 

" ' The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the 
Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the 
one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things 
that ye would (e)J The flesh is delighted with 
present and short-lived things, the Spirit, with 
perpetual and future things. In the midst of 
this struggle stands the soul ; and having in its 
power good and evil, to will and not to will ; but 

not 

(b ) Gal. c. 5. v. S. (c) Exod. c. 19. v. 5. 
(d) DtuL c. 10, v. 12. (e) Gal. C. £. 17* 



riiAJ\ v.] opposed to the Tenets of 'Cakinism. 405 

not having even this, willing and not willing, con- 
stant : because it may happen, that when it shall 
have consented to the flesh, and done its works, 
feeling remorse through repentance, it may again 
be joined to the Spirit, and work its works. This 
is therefore the meaning of the expression i These 
are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye 
cannot do the things that ye would.'" — Vol. 4* 
part 1. p. 298. 

M 1 According as he hath chosen us in him, before 
the foundation of the world, that we should be 
holy, and without blame before him (f)S But 
that he testified before the foundation of the 
world, that we are chosen, that we should be holy, 
and without blame before him, that is, before God, 
belongs to the prescience of God, to whom all 
future things are already done, and all things are 
known before they take place." — Vol. 4. part 1. 
P- 325. 

" £ In whom also we have obtained an inhe- 
ritance, being predestinated according to the 
purpose of him, who worketh all things after the 
counsel of his own will ( g) It is to be con- 
sidered, that predestination and purpose are here 
placed together, according to which God worketh 
all things after the counsel of his own will. Not 
that all things which are done in the world, are 

done 

(f) Eph. C. i. v. 4. (g) Eph. Q» I. v. Um 



406 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

done with the will and counsel of God ; for then 
wicked things might be imputed to God ; but 
that all things which he does, he does with coun- 
sel and will, because they are full of reason, and 
of the power of him who acts. We men will to 
do most things with counsel; but effect by no 
means follows the will But no one can resist 
Him, to prevent his doing whatever he wills. 
But he wills those things which are full of reason 
and counsel : ' He wills all men to be saved, and 
to come unto the knowledge of the truth fh). f But 
because no one is saved without his own will, (for 
we have free-will) he wills us to will that which is 
good, that when we have willed it, he himself also 
may will to fulfil his own counsel in us." — Vol. 4, 
part 1, p. 33 1 - 

" ' For by grace are ye saved, through faith : 
and that not of yourselves : it is the "gift of 
God Therefore, he says, he was about to 

shew the exceeding riches of his grace in the ages 
to come, in his kindness, because ye are saved by 
grace through faith, not through works. And 
this very faith is not of yourselves, but of him 
who called you. But this is said, lest, perhaps, 
this thought should secretly arise in you; If we 
be not saved through our works, certainly we are 
saved through faith, and in another way our sali- 
vation is owing to ourselves. Therefore he added 

and 

(h) 1 Tim, c, 2, v. 4. (i) Eph, c, %. v. 8, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 407 

and said, That faith itself is* not of our will, but of 
the gift of God. Not that free-will is taken away 
from man. And as the Apostle writes to the 
Romans. f It is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy (k)f 
but, that the freedom of will itself has God for its 
author, and all things are referred to his bounty, 
since he himself permitted us to will that which is 
good. And all this for this reason, that no one 
may glory that he is saved by himself, and not by 
God." — Vol. 4. part 1. p. 342. 

" * Paul a servant of God, and an Apostle of 
Jesus Christ, according to the faith of Gods 
elect (I); 9 that is, of those who are not only 
called, but elected. There is also a great dif- 
ference in the elect themselves, according to the 
variety of works, sentiments, and words. Nor 
does it follow that the elect of God either pos- 
sesses faith according to election, or has the know- 
ledge of truth according to faith. Whence our 
Saviour said to the Jews who had believed in 
him, e If ye continue in my word, ye shall know 
the truth, and the truth shall make you free ( m)? 
The Evangelist testifies that he spoke these things 
to those who did believe, but who did not know 
the truth, which they would have in their power 

to 

(k) Rom, c. 9. v. 16. (I) Tk. c. 1. v. 1. 
(m) John, c. 8. v. 31, 32, 
P D 4 



4oS Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

to obtain, if they would remain in his word, and 
being made free, they would cease to be slaves/'— 
Vol. 4. part 1. p. 410. 

" ' Without thy mind would I do nothing ; that 
thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, 
but willingly (n) : That question which is repeat- 
ed again and again by very many people, Why 
God, in making man, did not make him good and 
upright, may be solved by this passage. For if 
God be good voluntarily, and not of necessity, 
he ought, in making man, to make him after his 
own image and likeness, that is, so that he too 
might be good voluntarily, and not of necessity. 
For they who assert that man ought so to have 
been formed,- that he could not have admitted of 
wickedness, say that he ought to have been made 
such, as to be good by necessity, and not by 
will. But if he had been made such as to 
do good not by Mill, but by necessity^ he would 
not have been like God, who is therefore good 
because he wills it, not because he is forced. 
From which it is evident, that they require a 
thing which contradicts itself For when they 
say, man ought to be made like God, they de- 
sire that man should have free-will as God has. 
But when they say that he ought to be made 
such, that he could not admit of wickedness, 
while they impose upon him the necessity of 

good | 

(n) Philem. v. 14. 



chap, v.] opposed to 'the Tenets of Calvinism. 409 
good, they desire that he should not be like God. 
Therefore the Apostle Paul also might have re- 
tained Onesimus, to minister unto him, without 
the will of Philemon. But if he had done this 
without the will of Philemon, it would have been 
good, but not voluntary. But because it would 
not have been voluntary, it was in another way 
proved not to be good : for nothing can be called 
good, except what is voluntary. Whence the 
prudence of the Apostle is to be considered, 
who therefore sends back a fugitive slave to his 
master, that he may be^ of service to his master ; 
who could not be of service, if he was detained 
from his master. Therefore the former question 
is thus solved ; God might make man good with- 
out his will : Moreover, if he had done this, the 
good would not have been voluntary, but of ne- 
cessity. But what is good from necessity, is not 
good ; and in another respect is proved to be bad. 
Therefore leaving us to our own free-will, he 
rather made us after his own image and likeness ; 
but to be like God, is absolutely good." — Vol. 4. 
part 1. p. 450. 

" God has formed us with free-will ; nor are 
we drawn by neccessity, to virtues or to vices*'* — • 
Vol. 4. part 2. p. 195. 

" That we possess free-will, and can turn it 
£ither to a good or bad purpose, according to our 

determination^ 



410 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

determination, is owing to his grace, who made 
us after his own image and likeness." — Yol. 4. 
part 2. p. 486. 

H It is therefore agreed between us, that in 
good works after our own will, we depend on the 
assistance of God ; in bad works, upon that of 
the devil." — Vol. 4. part 2. p. 486. 

" ' It is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy ( V 
From which words we understand that to will 
and to run, are our own ; but that the completion^ 
of our will and running, belongs to the mercy 
of God ; and thus it happens, that both in our 
will and running, free-will is preserved ; and in 
the consummation of our will and running, all 
things are left to the power of God. We so 
preserve free-will to man, that we do not deny 
the assistance of God in each- thing." — Vol. 4- 
part 2. p. 487. 

u Adam did not sin because God knew that 
he would ; but God, as God, foreknew what he 
(Adam) would do, with his own free-will."- — Vol. 4. 
pail 2. p. 536. 

" Know that baptism forgives past sins, and 
does not secure future righteousness, which is 
guarded by labour, and industry, and diligence, 
and always, above all things, by the mercy of 

God 1 

(0) Rom. c. 9. v. j6» 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 41 1 

God ; so that it belongs to us to ask, to him to 
give that which is asked ; to us to begin, to him 
to perfect ; to us to offer what we can, to him 
- to complete what we cannot."™ V ol. 4. part 2. 
P- 532. 

" Every word of the Saints is a prayer to God ; 
the whole of the prayer and invocation extorts 
the mercy of our Creator, that we, who cannot 
be saved by our own strength, may be saved by 
his mercy. But where there is mercy and grace, 
free-will in part ceases ; which extends only so 
far, that we will and desire, and assent to what 
we think right. It is in the power of God that, 
with his aid and assistance, we may be able to ac- 
complish that which we desire, and labour, and 
endeavour." — Vol 4. part 2. p. 539. 

" John the Baptist utters a falsehood when he 
points to Christ, and says, ' Behold the Lamb 
of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
world J,' if there be still persons in the world 
whose sins Christ has not taken away." — Vol. 4. 
part 2. p. 646. 

" The law which is written in the heart, com- 
prehends all nations ; and no one is ignorant of 
this law. From whence all the world is under 
sin, and all men are transgressors of the law, 
and therefore the judgement of God is good." — 
Vol. 4. part 1. p. 200, 

"As 

(p) John, c, 1. v, 29, 



41 2 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. t. 

iC As all, before they are born, die in the first 
Adam ; so also all, even those who were born 
before the coming of Christ, are made alive in 
the second Adam," — Vol. 4. part 1 . p. 265. 

" Ask him why he chose the traitor Judas ? 
Why he trusted the bag to him, whom he knew 
to be a thief? Do you wish to hear the reason ? 
God judges present, not future things. Nor does 
he condemn from "foreknowledge the person who 
he knows will be such as afterwards to displease 
him : but he is of so great goodness, and inex- 
pressible mercy, as to choose him whom he sees 
in the mean time to be good, and knows that he 
will be bad, giving him a power of conversion 
and repentance." — Vol. 4. part 2. p. 536. 

" It is clear that all men have a natural know- 
ledge of God, and that no one is born without 
Christ, and without having in himself the seeds 
of wisdom, and of justice, and of the other vir* 
tues." — Vol 4. part 1. p. 233, 

AUGUSTINE— A. D. 398. 
Benedictine Edit. 

" Free-will is given to the soul, which they 
who endeavour to weaken by trifling reasoning, 
are blind to such a degree, that they do not even 
understand that they say those vain and sacri^ 

legions 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 413 
legious things with their own will."— Vol. 1. 
P. 439- 

" Every one is author of his own sin. Whence^ 
if you doubt, attend to what is said above, tha^ 
sins are avenged by the justice of God ; for they 
would not be justly avenged unless they wer$ 
committed with the will." — Vol. 1. p. 569. 

" It follows . . . that nothing makes the mind 
a companion of lust, except its own free-will." — - 
Vol. 1. p. 578. 

" I confess it cannot be denied, that we have 
will. Now go on ; let us see what you conclude 
from thence. A. I will ; but tell me also first, 
whether you do not think, that you have also a 
good-will. E. What is a good-will? A. A will 
by which we desire to live rightly, and honestly, 
and to arrive at the highest wisdom. Only con- 
sider whether you do not desire a right and honest 
life, or you do not earnestly wish to be wise; 
pr whether you dare certainly to deny that we 
have a good-will, when we will these things. 
E. I deny none of these things ; and therefore 
I confess that I have not only a will, but a good- 
will."— Vol. 1. p. 579. 

Having asserted that every good thing is from 
Godj he adds, " If man be a good thing, and 
could not act rightly except when he willed to 
do so, he ought to have free-will, without which, 

he 



414 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, 
he could not act rightly. For it is not to be be- 
lieved, because by it sin also is committed, that 
God gave it to him for that purpose. Therefore 
it is sufficient reason why it ought to be given, 
because a man cannot live rightly without it. 
But it may be understood even from hence, that 
if was given for this purpose, because if any one 
should use it to sin, Divine vengeance is taken 
upon him. Which would be done unjustly if 
free-will were not given, not only that we might 
live rightly, but also that we might sin. For 
how would vengeance be justly taken upon him, 
who had used his will for the purpose for which 
it was given ? But now when God punishes a 
sinner, what does he seem to you to say, except, 
Why did you not use free-will for the purpose for 
which I gave it to you, that is, to act rightly? Then 
how could that good be, by which justice itself is 
approved in condemning sins and honouring right 
actions, if man was destitute of free-will ? For 
there could not be either sin, or right action, 
which was not done with the will. And there- 
fore both the punishment would be unjust, and 
tie reward, if man had not free-will. But there 
ought to be justice both in the punishment and 
in the reward, because this is one of the good 
things which are from God. Therefore God 
ought to give free-will to man.'— Vol. i. p. 585. 

" It 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 41 5 

(i It is not to be feared but that there may be 
a certain middle life between virtue and sin, and 
that the sentence of the Judge may be in the 
middle, between reward and punishment" — 
Vol. 1. p. 637. 

Having spoken of the light of the sun, and of 
the eyes of eagles as superior to those of men, 
he says, " But that light (in which God dwells) 
does not feed the eyes of irrational birds, but the 
pure hearts of those who believe in God, and 
turn themselves from the love of visible and tem- 
poral things, to fulfil his commandments, which 
all men may do, if they please." — Vol. 1. p. 648, I 

" If that defect, which is called sin, like a 
fever, seized a person contrary to his will, the 
punishment which follows the sinner, and which 
is called damnation, would appear to be unjust. 
But now, sin is so far a voluntary evil, that it is 
by no means sin, unless it be voluntary : and this, 
indeed, is so clear, that not any of the learned, 
and no considerable number of the unlearned, 
dissent from it. Wherefore it must either be 
denied, that sin is committed ; or it must be con- 
fessed, that sin is committed with the will. But 
he does not rightly deny that the soul has sinned, 
who confesses both that it is corrected by peni- 
tence, and that the penitent is pardoned ; and 
that he who perseveres in sin, is condemned by 



4i6 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

£he just law of God. Lastly, if we do not act 
wrongly with the will, no one is to be reproved 
at all, or admonished ; and if you take away 
these things, the Christian law, and the whole 
discipline of religion, must necessarily be de- 
stroyed. Therefore sin is committed by the wilL 
And because there is no doubt but sin is com- 
mitted, I perceive that not even this is to be 
doubted, that souls have free-will. For God 
judged that his servants would be better, if they 
served him freely ; which would be impossible if 
they served him, not with the will, bat from 
necessity."— Vol. 1, p. 756. 

" Water exhibiting externally the sacrament 
of grace, and the Spirit internally operating the 
benefit of grace, loosing the bond of crime, and 
restoring the goodness of nature, regenerate the 
man in one Christ, born of one Adam." — Vol. 2, 
p. 264. 

" A child does not lose the grace which he 
has once received, except by his own impiety, if, 
as age increases, he becomes so wicked. For 
then he will begin to have his own sins, which 
may not be taken away by regeneration, but 
healed by another cure." — Vol. 2. p. 264. 

" Nor is free-will taken away, because it is 
assisted ; but it is assisted, because it is not taken 
away. He who says to God, ' Be thou my 
12 helper/ 



chap. V.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 417 

helper (q) 9 * confesses that he is willing to fulfil 
what he has commanded ; but that, in order to 
enable him, he asks assistance from him who 
hath commanded."' — Vol. 2. p. 545. 

" A distinction is to be made between the law 
and grace. The law commands, grace assists. 
Neither would the law command, unless there 
were will ; nor would grace assist, if the will 
were sufficient." Vol. 2. p. 628. — He then quotes 
several texts, in which both the will, and grace, 
are acknowledged. 

" Two young men, Crescomius and Felix, 
who say they are of your congregation, have 
come and related to us, that your monastery is 
disturbed by some dissension, because certain 
persons among you so preach grace, as to deny 
the free-will of man ; and which is more grievous, 
they assert, that in the day of judgement God 
will not render to every man according to his 
works. However, they have also declared this, 
that the greater number of you are not of these 
opinions; but- confess that free-will is assisted 
by the grace of God, that we may be wise and 
do what is right ; so that when the Lord shall 
come to render to every man according to his 
works, he may find our works good, which God 
prepared that we might walk in them. They 

who 

(q) Ps. 30. v. II, 



41 S Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, y, 

who think this, think well. Therefore I beseech 
you, brethren, as the Apostle besought the Co- 
rinthians, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that you all speak the same thing, 'and that there 
be no divisions among you ( r For, first, the 
Lord Jesus, as is written in the Gospel of the 
Apostle John, did not come to condemn the 
world, but that the world through him might be 
saved ( s). But afterwards, as the Apostle Paul 
writes, God shall judge the world ft); when 
he shall come, as the whole Church confesses in 
the Creed, to judge the quick and the dead. If,, 
therefore, there be no grace of God, how does 
Jie save the world ? And if there be not free- 
will, how does he judge the world ? Wherefore,, 
understand my book or epistle according to this 
faith, that ye neither deny the grace of God„ 
nor so defend free-will as to separate it from the 
grace of God ; as if you could by any means- 
think or do any thing according to God without 
it, which is altogether impossible. For on this 
account, the Lord, when he spoke concerning 
the fruits of righteousness, said to his disciples, 
1 Without me ye can do nothing' ( u J.' 9 — Vol. 2„ 
p. 791. 

Speaking of the Pelagian heretics, he says, 

" Into 

(r) 1 Cor. c. 1. v. xo. (s) John, c. 3. v. 17.- 
(t) Rom. c. 3. v. 6* (u) Johii, c. 15. v. 5. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 41 9 

" Into whose error that person falls, who thinks 
that the grace of God is given according to 
any human merits. But again he is no less 
in error, who thinks that when the Lord shall 
come to judgement, a man who has been able to 
use free-will in this life, will not be judged ac- 
cording to his works." Vol. 2. p. 793. — From 
this and many other passages of Augustine, it 
seems evident, that in his time the advocates for 
grace were apt to depreciate good works. 

Of twelve propositions or sentences against the 
Pelagians, the tenth is, " Wq know that those 
who believe in the Lord with their heart, do it 
with their will and free choice." — Vol. 2. p. 805. 
This sentence is contradicted , or at least explained 
away in the same letter, where faith is said to 
come solely from the grace of God. 

" How are they said to deny free-will, who 
confess that every man who believes in God 
with his heart, believes only with his own free- 
will ; whereas they rather oppose free-will, who 
oppose the grace of God, by which it is in reality 
free to choose and to do what is good?" — Vol. 2. 
p. 807. 

" He foreknew that their will would be bad ; 
he foreknew it indeed, and because his prescience 
is infallible, the bad will is not on that account 
his, but theirs. Why then did he create them 
e e 2 who 



420 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

who he knew would be such? Because, as he 
foreknew what evil they would do, so also he 
foresaw what good he would himself produce out 
of their bad actions. For he so formed them, 
that he left them the means of doing something ; 
by which, whatever they should choose, even 
blameably, they would find him acting laudably, 
concerning himself. For they have the bad will 
from themselves ; but from him, both a good 
nature and a just punishment."' — Vol. 3. part 1. 
p. 279. 

" Hear Paul confessing grace, and after wards', 
demanding what was due. What is the confes- 
sion of grace in St. Paul? — c I who was before 
a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious : 
but I obtained mercy (x). ' He called himself 
unworthy to obtain mercy ; however, that he did 
obtain it, not through his own merits, but 
through the mercy of God. Hear him now de- 
manding what is due, who at first had received 
grace, which was not due ; £ For I am now ready 
to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand. 1 have fought a good fight, I hav^ 
finished my course, I have kept the faith. Hence- 
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righte- 
ousness ( y).\ He now demands what is due; 
he now requires what is due. For, observe 

the 

(x) I Tim. c. I. y. 13. (y) 2 Tim c. 4. v. 6—8, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 421 

the following words ; - Which the Lord the 
righteous Jud^e shall give me at that day.' To 
receive grace at first was the work of a merciful 
Fa ther ; to receive the reward of grace, was the 
work of a ju3t Judge.'— Vol. 3. part 2. p. 308. 

" There are two births, one is of the earth, 
the other of heaven. ; one is of the flesh, the other ■ 
of the Spirit ; one is of mortality, the other of 
eternity ; one is of male and female, the other of 
God and the Church, But each of these tzvo 
takes place only once ; neither the one nor the 
other can be repeated. Nicodemus rightly un- 
derstood t ie birth of the flesh. Do you, also, 
so understand the birth of the Spirit, as Nico- 
demus understood the birth of the flesh. What 
did Nicodemus understand ? Can a man enter 
a second time into his mother's womb, and be 
born? Whoever shall say to you, that you may 
be born a second time spiritually, answer him 
what Nicodemus said, Can a man enter a second 
time into his mother's womb, and be born? I 
am already, born of Adam ; Adam cannot gene- 
rate me a second time ; I am already born of 
Christ ; Christ cannot generate me a second 
time. As the natural birth cannot be repeated, 
so neither can baptism."— Vol. 3. part 2. p. 378. 
" ' Open thy mouth wide, and I shall fill it (%) : 

In 

(z) Ps. 81. v. 11. 

E E 3 



422 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

In which words he signifies, in man the will of 
receiving that which God gives to him who is 
willing. So that, Open thy mouth, belongs to the 
beginning of the will ; but, And I shall fill it, to 
the grace of G cel." — Vol. 3. part 1. p. 424. 

" £ No man can come to me, except the Fa- 
ther, which hath sent me, draw him (a) :' a great 
commendation of grace. . No man comes except 
he be drawn : whom he draws, and whom he does 
not draw; why he draws one, and not another, 
clo not judge, unless you wish to err. Once hear 
and understand ; Are you not yet drawn ? Pray 
that you may be drawn. What do we say here, 
brethren ? If we fee drawn to Christ, then we 
believe unwillingly ; violence, therefore, is used ; 
the will is not excited. Any one may enter the 
church unwillingly; he may approach the altar 
unwillingly.; he may take the sacrament unwil- 
lingly; no one can believe, except he be wiliing. , '-~ - 
Vol. 3. part 2. p. 494. 

" Some object, What did the Jews do, or what 
was their fault, if it were necessary that the say- 
ing of Esaias the Prophet should be fulfilled, 
which he spake, ( Lord, who hath believed our 
report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord 
been revealed (b)V To whom we answer, that 

the 

(a) John, c. 6. v. 44. 

{*>} John, c. 12. v. 380 Is.c. 53- v. I* 



chap, yj opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 423 
the Lord foreknowing what would happen, lore- 
told by the Prophet the infidelity of the Jews; 
his foretelling it, however, did not cause it. For 
God does not on that account force any one to 
sin, because he knows the future sins of men*" — - 
Vol. 3. part 2. p. 645. 

" Let not any one dare so to defend free-will, 
as to attempt to take away from us the prayer, 
Lead us not into temptation. Again, let not 
any one deny free-will, and dare to excuse sin. 
But let us hear the Lord, both commanding and 
aiding, both ordering what we ought to do, and 
assisting that we may fulfil it. For both too great 
a confidence in their own will, has raised some to 
pride ; and too great a distrust in their own will, 
has depressed others to negligence," — Vol. 3. 
p. 647. 

" Because he says, ' For the children -being 
not yet born, neither having done any good or 
evil, that the purpose of God, according to elec- 
tion, might stand, not of works, but of him that 
calleth ; it was said unto her, The elder shall serve 
the younger: as it is written,; Jacob have I loved, 
but Esau have I hated (c) ; some have been in- 
duced to think that* the Apostle Paul has taken 
away free- will, through which we obtain the fa- 
vour of God, by the good of piety, or offend him 

with 

(c) Rom. c. 9. v. 11 — 13, 

!£ E 4 



424 Quotations fr 077i the Fathers, [chap. v. 
with the evil of impiety. v For they say. that pre- 
vious to any works, cither good or evil, of two 
persons not yet born, God loved the one, and 
hated the other. But we answer, that this was 
done by the prescience of God, by which he 
knows, even concerning those who are not } r et 
born, what sort of a person every one will be. 
But let not any one say, Therefore God chose 
w orks in him. whom he loved, although they did 
not yet exist, because he foreknew that they 
would be : but if he chose works, how does the 
Apostle say, that the election was not made of 
works ? Wherefore it is to be understood, that 
good works are done through love, but that love 
is in us through the gift of the Holy Ghost, as 
the same Apostle says, * The love of God is shed 
abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, which 
is given unto us (d)' Therefore no one ought to 
glory in his works as if they were his own, which 
he has by the gift of God, sinceTove itself works 
good in him. What then did God choose ? For 
if he gives the Holy Spirit to whom he wills, 
through which love works good, how has he 
chosen to whom he gives it ? For if it be given 
in consequence of no merit, there is no election ; 
for all are equal before merit ; nor can it be called 
election, where things are exactly equal. But be- 
cause 

(d) Rom.c. 5. v. 5. . 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 42 5 

cause the Holy Spirit is not given except to those 
who believe, God has not chosen the works which 
he himself gives, when he gives the Holy Spirit, 
that we may do good works through love • but 
nevertheless he has chosen faith. Because, ex- 
cept every one believes in him, and continues irr 
the will of receiving, he does not receive the gift 
of God, that is, the Holy Ghost, by which he 
may do good works, the love of God being shed 
abroad. Therefore God did not in his prescience 
choose the works of any one, which he was him- 
self about to give ; but he chose faith in his pre- 
science ; so that he chose him who he foreknew 
would believe, to whom he might give his Holy 
Spirit ; that by good works he might also obtain 
eternal life," — Vol. 3. part 2, p. 916. 

" The mind of man, wavering and fluctuating 
between the confession of infirmity and the bold- 
ness of presumption, is generally beaten about 
this way and that, and is so impelled, that he is 
in danger of failing down a precipice on either 
side. For if he should entirely give himself up 
to his own infirmity, and incline to this opinion, 
so as to say, Because the mercy of God is in the 
end so ready to all sinners, in whatever sins , they 
may persevere, provided they believe that God 
delivers, that God pardons, that no one of the 
wicked who have faith (fidelium iniquorum) 

perishes ; 



426 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. y. 
perishes ; that is, no one of those perishes, who 
say to the mselyes, Whatever'! may do, with what- 
ever crimes and wickednesses I may be defiled, 
how much soever I may sin, God delivers me by 
his mercy, because I have believed in him : He, 
therefore, who says that no person of this kind 
perishes, from a wrong opinion, inclines to the im- 
punity of sinners ; and that just God to whom 
mercy and judgement, are sung/ej, not mercy 
only, but judgement also, finds the person 
wrongly presuming upon himself, and, abusing 
the mercy of God to his own destruction, and 
must necessarily condemn him. Such a thought, 
then, throws a man down a precipice, through 
fear of which, if any one should raise himself to 
a certain boldness of presumption, and shall pre- 
sume upon his own strength and righteousness, 
and shall propose in his mind to fulfil righteous- 
ness, and so to do all things which are corn- 
manded in the law, that he offends in nothing, 
and to have his life in his own power, so that he 
no where falls, no where fails, no where stumbles, 
is no where in darkness, and attributes this to 
himself and to the power of his will ; even if he, 
should happen to fulfil all things which seem just 
in the sight of men, so that nothing is found in 
his life which can be blamed by men, God con- 
demns 

(e) Ps. IOI. v. Ic 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 427 
dentins this very presumption, and boast of pride. 
What then happens if a man should justify him- 
self, and presume upon his own righteousness? 
He falls. If, considering and thinking of his own 
weakness, and presuming upon the mercy of God, 
he shall neglect to purge his life of his sins, and 
shall plunge into every gulf of wickedness ; he too 
falls. The presumption of righteousness is, as it 
were, on the right hand ; the opinion of the impunity 
of sinners is, as it were, on the left. Let us hear 
the voice of God, saying to us, 6 Turn not to the 
right hand, nor to the leftQQ.' Presume not 
upon your own just right to the kingdom; pre- 
sume not upon the mercy of God to sin. The 
Divine precept calls you back from both ; both 
from that height, and from this depth. If you 
should ascend to the one, you will be thrown 
down ; if you should fall into the other, you will 
be drowned. Turn not, he says, to the right 
hand, nor to the left. Again I say this short thing, 
which you may all keep fixed upon your minds, 
Presume not upon your own righteousness to 
reign ; presume not on the mercy of God to sin. 
What then shall I do ? you will answer. This 
Psalm teaches you : which being read and treated 
of, I think that, through the assistance of the 
mercy of God, we shall see the way, in which 

we 

(f) Prov. c. 4. v. 27. 



423 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

we either already walk, or which we ought to 
keep. Let every one hear according to his own 
measure ; and as he shall be conscious to himself, 
so let him either grieve, as deserving correction, 
or rejoice, as deserving approbation. If he shall 
find that he lias gone astray, let him return, that 
he may walk in the way ■ if he shall find himself 
in the way, let him walk on, that he may arrive 
at the end. Let no one be proud, who is out of 
the way ; let no one be idle, who is in the way." 
After proving that Abraham was justified by faith, 
not by works, he supposes some one to say, 
u You see, then, because Abraham was justified 
by faith, not by works, I will do whatever I 
like ; because, even if I shall not have good works, 
and shall only believe in God, it is counted to 
me for righteousness. If he has said this, and 
determined it, he is Mien and is drowned • if he 
still thinks upon it, and is hesitating, he is in 
danger. But the Scripture of God, and the true 
meaning of it, deliver from danger not only him 
who is in danger, but also raise from the deep 
him who is drowned. I answer then, as if 
against an Apostle, and I say concerning Abra- 
ham himself, what we find also in the Epistle of 
another Apostle, who wished to correct those 
w ho had misunderstood that Apostle. For James 
in his Epistles, in opposition to those who were 

unwilling 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 429 
unwilling to do good works, presuming upon faith 
only, commended the works of that very Abra- 
ham, whose faith Paul commended ; and the 
Apostles do not contradict each other. But he 
mentions a work known to all, — Abrn ham offered 
his son Isaac to Cod, to be sacrificed ( gj — a great 
work, but of faith. I praise the edifice of the 
work, but I see the foundation of faith. I praise 
the fruit of good works, but I acknowledge the 
root in faith. But if Abraham did this without a 
right faith, that work, of whatever kind it might 
be, would not profit him. Again, if he had faith, 
so that when God should command him to offer 
his son to be sacrificed, he should say with him- 
self, I do not do it, and yet I believe that God 
delivers me, even though I despise his commands ; 
faith without works would be dead, and would 
remain, as k were, a barren and dry root, without 
fruit."— Vol. 4. p. 3 70. 

" 6 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O ye 
congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons 
of men fh J}' For what wicked person cannot 
easily speak righteousness? Or who, being asked 
about righteousness in a case where he has no 
interest, would not immediately give a righteous, 
answer? Since truth has written upon our very 
hearts, by the hand of our Creator, Do not' that 

to 

(i) Jas.c, 2. v. 21. (h) i s. 58. v. I. 



430 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v 

to another, which you would not wish to be done 
to yourself. No man was permitted to be igno- 
rant of this, 'even before the law was given,, that 
there might be a ground for judging even those 
to whom the law was not given. But, that men 
might not complain that any thing was wanting 
to them, that was written upon tablets also, 
which they did not read in their hearts. For 
they had it already written, but they were unwil- 
ling to read. That was placed before their eyes, 
which they might be compelled to see in their 
conscience ; and the voice of God being, as it were, 
applied from without, man was driven to his own 
breast, the Scripture saying, £ Inquisition shall 
be made into the counsels of the ungodly (l) : 
where there is inquisition, there is law/' — Vol. 4. 
p. 540. 

" 4 I have applied my heart to fulfil thy sta- 
tutes alway (k)J He who says, I have applied 
my heart, had himself already said, c Incline my 
heart unto thy testimonies (I) that we may un- 
derstand that this is at the same time both the 
gift of God 3 and the exertion of our own will." — 

Vol. 4. p. 1339- 

" The words of the Apostle are, ' Work out 
your own salvation with fear and trembling (m)? 

Why 

(2) Wisdom, c. 1. v. 9. (k) Ps. 119. v. 112. 
(I) Ps. 119. v. 36. (m) Phil. c. 2. V. X2, 



ckap. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Cahhilsm. 431 

Why then do I work out my salvation with fear 
and trembling, since it is in my power to work 
out my salvation ? Do you wish to hear, w r hy 
it is to be done with fear and trembling ? * For 
it is God which worketh in you (n) : therefore, 
with fear and trembling. Because what the 
humble man obtains, the proud man loses. If 
then it be God which worketh in us, why is it 
said, Work out your -own salvation? Because 
he so worketh in us, that we also work. ' Be 
thou my helper ( 0),' points out that he also is a; 
worker, who calls for a helper/' — Vol. 5. p 79. 

" 6 I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations 
for you, which is your glory (p): 9 that is, I de- 
. sire that ye faint not when ye hear that I suffer 
tribulations for you, because this is your glory. 
He desires them not to faint ; which he would 
not do, unless he wished to excite their will. For 
if they should answer, Why do you desire of u& 
what w T e have not in our own power ? would they 
not seem to themselves to have returned a just 
answer? And yet the Apostle, unless he knew 
that the consent of their will was in their power, 
where even they themselves might do something, 
would not say, I desire. And if he should say, 
I order, unless he knew that they were able to 

(n) Phil. c. 2. v. 13. (0) Ps. 30. v. 11. 
(p) Eph. c. 3. v. 13. 



432 Quotations from the Fathers j [chap, v- 

apply their will to his order, this word would 
proceed from his mouth without reason. But 
again, knowing that the will of man is weak with-* 
out the assistance of God, not only that they 
might not say, free-will is sufficient for us, ob- 
serve what he added,— £ For this cause/ — for what 
cause, except that which he had already men- 
tioned, ' I desire that ye faint not at my tribula- 
tions for you, which is your glory?' Because, 
then, you have free-will, I desire. But because 
free-will is not sufficient for you to fulfil that 
which I desire, ■ For this cause I bow my knees 
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of 
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is 
named, that he would grant you ( q J — that he 
would grant you, what ? that which I desire of 
you, I ask that he would grant to , you. For I 
desire of you, because of free-will ; I ask that He 
would grant to you, for the sake of the assistance 
of his greatness. But we have anticipated the 
words of the Apostle. Perhaps you, who do 
not recollect the words of the passage, still wait 
to hear whether the Apostle really bows his knees 
to the Father for them, that he would grant them 
what he had said to them, I desire. Recollect 
then what he desired from them ; I desire that ye 
faint not at my tribulations for you : this he 

desires 

(q) Eph. c. 3. y. 14 — 16, 



eHA£. v»] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 433 
desires from them. N ow observe what he desires 
for them. ' I bow my knees unto the Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you, 
according to the riches of his glory, to be strength- 
ened with might.' What else is this, but that ye 
faint not? ' To be strengthened with might/ he 
says, ' by his Spirit.' This is the Spirit of Grace. 
Observe what he desires. He asks from God 
this very thing which he requires from men; be- 
cause that God may be willing to give, you also 
ought to suit your will to receive. How can you' 
be willing to receive the grace of Divine goodness, 
who do not open the bosom of your will ? He 
says, 1 that he may grant you for you have it 
not unless he grants it you ; 4 That he may grant 
you to be strengthened with might by his Spirit 
for if he grants you to be strengthened with might, 
then he will grant you not to faint." — Vol. 5. 
p. 797- 

" The whole is from God ; not however as if 
we were asleep ; not as if we exert no endeavour; 
not as if we do not will. The righteousness of 
God will not be in you without your own will — 
will^ is your own only ; righteousness is God's 
only. The righteousness of God may be with- 
out your will, but it cannot be in you except by 
your will. What you ought to do, is pointed out. 
The law has commanded, Do not this, do not 
F ,f that ; 



434 Quotations from the Fathoms, [chap. v. 
that; Do this, and do that. It is pointed out fo 
you ; it is ordered to you ; it is open to you ; if 
you have a heart, you have understood what to 
do; ask that you may do it, if you know the 
power of the resurrection of Christ ; for ' he was 
delivered for our offences, and was raised again 
for our justification (r) 9 What is the meaning 
of the words £ for our justification?* That he 
may justify us, that he may make us righteous. 
You will be the w ork of God, not onlv because 
you are a man, but because you are righteous. 
For it is better to be righteous, than that you 
should be a man. If God made you a man, and 
you made yourself righteous, you make a better 
thing than God made. But God made you with- 
out yourself; for you did not give any consent, 
that God should make you. How did you con- 
sent, who did not exist? Therefore, he that 
made you without yourself, does not justify you 
without yourself. Therefore, he made you with- 
out your knowing it, he justifies you when you 
are willing."— Vol. 5. p. 815. 

" Nothing happens in the world by chance. 
This being established, it seems to follow, that 
whatever takes place in the world, takes place 
partly from the appointment of God, partly from 
©ur own will. For God is by far and incom- 
parably 

( r) Rom. c. 4. y. 25. 



tUAT. ¥«] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism* 435 

parably better and more just than the best and 
most just man. But a just Being, ruling and 
governing the universe, suffers no punishment to 
be inflicted upon any undeserving person ; no re- 
ward to be given to any undeserving person. But 
sin deserves punishment, and right conduct de- 
serves reward But neither sin nor right conduct 
can justly be imputed to anyone, who has done 
nothing by his own will. Both sin, therefore* 
and right conduct are in our own free-will."— 
Vol. 6? p. 6. 

" ' Because the Apostle Paul, in declaring that 
a man is justified by faith without works, is not 
rightly understood by those who so understand 
these words, that they think that when once they 
have believed in Christ, although thev should act 
ill, and live wickedly and sinfully, they may be 
saved bv faith ; this passage of this Epistle 
(St. James's) explains how the sense of the 
Apostle Paul is to be understood* Therefore he 
the rather uses the example of Abraham, that 
faith is void if it does not produce good works, 
because the Apostle Paul also used the example 
of Abraham, to prove that man is justified by 
faith without the works of the law. For when 
he enumerates the good works of A braham, which 
accompanied his faith, he sufficiently shews that 
the Apostle Paul does not so teach, by the in- 
p f 2 stance 



436 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. y. 

stance of Abraham, that man is justified by faith 
without works, that good works do not belong to 
him who shall believe ; but rather, that no man 
should think that by the merit of antecedent 
works he had arrived at the gift of justification, 
which is in faith. For in this respect the Jews 
desired to prefer themselves to the Gentiles who 
believed in Christ, because they said they had 
arrived at evangelical grace by the merit of good 
works which are in the law. Therefore many of 
those among them who had believed were offended, 
because the grace of God was given to uncircum- 
cised Gentiles. Whence the Apostle Paul says, 
that a man may be justified by faith without works, 
but he means antecedent ones. For how can a 
person who is justified by faith, do otherwise than 
perform good works afterwards, although without 
having performed any previous good works he 
has arrived at the justification of faith, not by the 
merit of good works, but by the grace of k God, 
which cannot now be void in him, since it now 
works by love ? But if, after he has believed, he 
should soon depart from this life, the justifica- 
tion of faith remains with him, good works not 
going before ; because he has arrived at it not by 
merit, but by grace; nor following, because he 
is not permitted to remain in this life. Whence it is 
manifest^ that the saying of the Apostle Paul, c We 
1 2 conclude, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 437 
conclude, that a man is justified by faith without 
the deeds of the law (s is not to be understood, 
that we should call a person righteous, who should 
continue alive after he has received faith, although 
he should lead a bad life. Therefore the Apostle 
Paul uses the example of Abraham, because he 
was justified through faith without the works of 
the law r , which he had not received ; and James, 
because he shews that good works followed the 
faith of this very Abraham, pointing out how the 
preaching of Paul ought to be understood. For 
they who think this sentence of the Apostle James 
is contrary to the sentence of the Apostle Paul, 
may also think that Paul is contrary to himself, 
because he says in another place, ' Not the hearers 
of the law are just before God, but the doers of 
the law shall be justified (t) ; and in another 
place, e but faith, which worketh by love (u) 
and again, ' If ye live after the flesh, ye shall 
die ; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the 
deeds of the body, ye shall live (x)? He then 
quotes many other passages, to prove that a 
good life is necessary in those who believe." — » 
Vol. 6. p. 67. 

" ' To will is present with me ; but how to 
perform that which is good, I find not (yj. 9 By 

these 

(s) Rom. c. 3. v. 28. (t) Rom. c. 2. v. 13. 
(u) Gal. c. 5. v. 6. fx J Rom. c. 8. y. IJ. 
(y) Rom. c. 7. v. l8. 

r f 3 



538 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. , 

these words he seems, to those who do not rightly 
understand them, as it were, to take away free- 
will. But how does he take it away, when he 
says, * to will is present with me?' For certainly 
to will is in our power, because it is present with 
us ; but that to do good is not in our powder, is 
to be imputed to original sin." — Vol. 6. p. 85. 

" The thief was justified^ who, when all his 
limbs were fixed upon the cross, and having 
these two things at liberty, with his heart believed 
unto righteousness, with his mouth confessed 
unto salvation, and immediately merited this as- 
surance, ' To-day shalt thou be with me in Para- 
dise/ For his good works would have followed, 
if he had lived anv considerable time among 
men, after he received grace ; they had however 
not preceded." — Vol. 6. p. 1 00. 

" Let us now consider that which is to be re- 
moved from religious hearts, lest through a faulty 
security they lose their salvation, if they shall 
think that faith is sufficient to obtain it, but shall 
neglect to lead good lives, and to keep the way 
of God by good works. For, even in the times 
of the Apostles, certain rather obscure sentences 
of the Apostle not being understood, some per- 
sons thought that he said this, ' Let us do evil, 
that good may come ( z)\ because he had said, 

< The 

(%) Rom. c, 3. v. 8. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 439 
' The law entered, that the offence might abound ; 
but where sin abounded, grace did much more 
abound (a)\ which is true, for this reason, be- 
cause men receiving the law, who most proudly 
presumed upon their own strength, not through 
right faith, asking Divine assistance to subdue 
their wicked lusts, became hardened with more 
and heavier sins, the law also being transgressed ; 
and thus compelled by great guilt, fled to faith, 
by w T hich they might deserve the mercy of in- 
dulgence, and assistance from God who made 
heaven and earth; that, charity being shed in 
their hearts by the Holy Ghost, they might do 
with love those things which are ordered against 

the lusts of this world When, therefore, the 

Apostle says, that he concludes that man is jus- 
tified by faith without the works of the law, he 
does not mean that the works of righteousness 
may be disregarded, after faith is perceived and 
professed ; but that every one may know that he 
may be justified by faith, although the works of 
the law shall not have preceded. For they follow 
the person justified, and do not precede Lim 

who is to be justified 1 ecaus , therefore, 

this opinion had then arisen, the utiier apostolical 
Epistles of Peter, John, James, and Jude, prin- 
cipally direct their zeal against it, to prove with 

great 

(a) Rom. c. 5. v. 20. > 
F F 4 



440 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
great earnestness, that faith without works is of 
no avail ; as even Paul himself has not defined 
it faith of any sort, by which men believe in God, 
but that wholesome and plainly Evangelical faith, 
whose works proceed from love : 6 and faith,' he 
says, 'which worketh by \ove(b).' Whence 
he asserts, that that faith, which appears to some 
sufficient for salvation, is to such a degree useless, 
that he says, £ Though I have all faith, so that I 
could remove mountains, and have not charity, 
I am nothing ( c )' But where a faithful charity 
works, without doubt there is a good life, for 
- love is the fulfilling of the law (d)! Whence 
Peter plainly, in his second Epistle (when he was 
exhorting to sanctity of life and manners, and 
foretelling that this life would pass away, but 
that new heavens and a new earth are expected, 
which w 7 ould be given to be inhabited by the just, 
that they might from thence observe how they 
ought to live in order to become worthy of that 
habitation, knowing that from certain obscure sen^ 
tences, some wicked persons had taken occasion 
%q be regardless of a good life, as if secure of 
salvation which is in faith) has mentioned, that 
there are some things in his Epistles hard to 
be understood, which men perverted, as they 

did 

(h) GaL c. 5. v. 6. (c) 1 Cor. c. 13, v e 2, 
(d) Rom. c. 13. v. 10, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism* 4.41 

did the other Scriptures also, to their own de- 
struction : whereas, however 5 that Apostle also 
thought the same as the other Apostles did 
concerning eternal salvation, which is given 
to those only [who lead good lives. ' Seeing, 
then, all these things shall be dissolved, what 
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy 
conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting 
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the 
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the 
elements shall melt with fervent heat ? Never- 
theless we, according to his promise, look for 
new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that 
ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may 
be found of him in peace, and without spot and 
blameless ; And account that the long-suffering 
of our Lord is salvation ; even as our beloved 
brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given 
unto him, hath written unto you ; as also in all 
his Epistles, speaking in them of these things ; 
in which are some things hard to be understood* 
which they that are unlearned and unstable wres% 
as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their 
own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing 
ye know these things before, beware lest ye also 
being led aw r ay with the error of the wieked, fall 
from your own stedfastness. But jjrow in grace, 

and 



44^ Quotations from \ t he Fathers, [chap. v. 
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ : to him be glory both now and for 
ever. Amen ('ej.' But James is so vehemently 
hostile to those who imagine that faith without 

o 

works' avails to salvation, that he compares them 
even to devils, saying, e Thou beiievest that there 
is one God ; thou docst well : the devils also 
believe, and tremble (f)? What can be 'more 
concise, more true, more strong? since we 
read also in the Gospel, that the devils said this 
when they confessed Christ to be the Son of God, 
and were reproved by him ; which was praised 
in the confession of Peter (gj. 1 What doth it 
profit, my brethren,' says James, f though a man 
say he hath faith, and have not works ? Can 
faith save him (h ) ? ' rJe - says also, that faith 
w ithout works is dead (i). To what degree then 
are they deceived, who promise themselves eter- 
nal life from a dead faith ? " — Vol. 6. p. 176. 

" I do not see why the Lord should say, ' If 
thou wilt enter into life, keep the command- 
ment- f'kj ; and he enumerated those things 
which belong to good morals ; if, without keeping 
these things, eternal life may be obtained by 

faith 

(c) 2 Pet. r. 3. v. II — 18. (f) Jas. c. 2, v. 19. 
(g) Mark, c i.v. 24. Matt. c. 16. v. 16. 
(A ) Jas. c. 2, v. 14. ft) Jas. c. 2. v. 20* ^ 

(k) Matt. c. 19. v. 17, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 443 

faith alone, which is dead without works. How, 
again, will that be true, which he will say to those 
whom he is about to place on the left hand, ' De- 
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
prepared for the devil and his angels (I) : Whom 
he does not blame, because they did not believe 
in him, but because they did not perform good 
works." — Vol. 6. p. 179. 

Alluding to a difficult passage in St. Paul's first 
Epistle to the Corinthians, c. 3. v. 11. he says s 
" I confess I would rather hear those who are 
more intelligent and more learned, who so ex- 
pound it, that all those things which I have men- 
tioned above, remain true and unshaken ; and 
whatever other things I have not mentioned 5 
in which the Scripture most clearly testifies, that 
faith does not profit, except that faith which the 
Apostle has defined, that is, which worketh by 
love ; but that it cannot save without works." — < 
Vol. 6. p. 180. 

" All are dead in sins, without the exception 
of any one person, either in original sins, or in 
those which are added voluntarily, either igno- 
rantly or knowingly, by not doing what is just ; 
and one living person died for all who were 
dead, that is, He who had no sin whatever." — 
Vol. 7. p. 579. 

" They 

(I) Matt. c. 25. v 41. 



444 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

ff They (the Pelagians) destroy the prayers 
which the Church makes, either for unbelievers, 
and those who resist the doctrine of God, that 
they may be converted to God : or for believers, 
that their faith may be increased, and that they 
may persevere in it." — Vol. 8. p. 26. 

" Which free-will if God had not given, there 
could be no just sentence of punishment, nor 
reward for right conduct, nor a Divine precept 
to repent of sins, nor pardon of sins, which God 
has given us through our Lord Jesus Christ ; be- 
cause he who does not sin with his will, does not 

sin at all Which sins, as I have said, unless 

we had free-will, would not be sins Where- 
fore, if it be evident that there is no sin where 
there is not free-will, I desire to know what 
harm the soul has done, that it should be pu- 
nished by God, or repent of sin, or deserve par* 
don, since it has been guilty of no sin."— Vol. 8, 
p. 101. 

" Truth declares, that all those things, both 
visible and invisible, which subsist by nature, 
were made by God ; among which, that the ra- 
tional creature, being himself made, has received 
free-will, whether in the case of angels or of men \ 
by which free-will, if he should be willing to serve 
God, according to the will and law of God, he 
would have eternal felicity with him ; but if he 

should 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 445 
should be unwilling to submit to his law, and, 
using his own power, should act contrary to his 
command, he would be subject to due punish- 
ment, according to his justice. This is the omni- 
potence of God in creating all things ; this is his 
justice in rewarding sinners. But that there is 
free-will, and that from thence every one sins if he 
wills, and that he does not sin if be does not will, 
I prove not only in the Divine Scriptures, which 
you do not understand, but in the words of your 

own Manes himself Hear then concerning 

free-will, first, the Lord himself, where he speaks 
of two trees, which you yourself have mentioned : 
hear him saying, i Either make the tree good, 
and his fruit good ; or else make the tree corrupt 
and his fruit corrupt.' When, therefore, he says, 
either do this, or do that, he shews power, not 
nature. For no one except God can make a 
tree : but every one has it in his will, either to 
choose those things which are good, and to be a 
good tree ; or to choose those things which are 
bad, and to be a bad tree."— Vol. 8. p. 488. 

" In infants who are baptized, the sacrament 
jof regeneration precedes ; and if they shall hold 
the Christian piety, conversion will follow in the 
heart, the mystery of which has preceded in the 
body." — Vol. 9. p, 140. 

" God has given to man free-will, without 

which 



446 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, % 

which there can be neither a good nor a bad life," 
Vol. 10. p. 88. 

u Let us therefore first say this, and see whe- 
ther it satisfies this question, that free-will, natu- 
rally given by the Creator to a rational creature, 
is that middle power which may either be directed 
to faith, or inclined to unbelief ; and therefore a 
man cannot be said to possess that will whereby 
he has believed in God, which he has not received, 
since, when God calls, he rises from free-will, 
which he naturally received when he was created. 
But God wills, that all men should be saved, and 
come to the knowledge of the truth ; not so, how- 
ever, as to take away free-will from them, which 
using well or ill, they may most justly be judged." 
Vol. io. p. n 8. 

" The nature of mankind, born of the flesh of 
that one transgressor, if it can be sufficient to 
itself to fulfil the law, and perform righteousness, 
ought to be secure of reward, that is, of eternal 
life, although, in gome other nation or at some 
former period, it has been unacquainted wfth 
faith in the blood of Christ. For God is not 
unjust, to defraud the righteous of the reward of 
righteousness, if the sacrament of the Divinity 
and of the humanity of Christ which was mani- 
fested in the flesh, has not been announced to 
them. For how should they believe what they 

have 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 447 
have not heard, or how should they hear without 
a preacher ? For faith cometh by hearing, as it 
is written, but hearing by the word of God. But 
I say. Have they not heard ? Their sound w r ent 
into all the earth, and their words unto the end of 
the world (m ) . But before this began to take 
place, before the preaching itself arrives at the 
ends of the world, (because there are still na- 
' tions, although, as it is said, very few, to whom 
' this has not yet been preached)— what will hu- 
man nature do, or what has it done, (which had 
either not before heard what was about to hap- 
pen, or has not yet been informed of what has 
taken place) — except by believing in God who 
made the heaven and the earth, by whom it per- 
ceives itself also to have been naturally made ; 
and by living rightly, it fulfils his will, without any 
faith in the passion and resurrection of Christ ? 
Which if it were possible, or be still possible, I also 
say this, which the Apostle said of the law which 
the single nation of the Jews received — (how 
much more justly is it said of the law of nature, 
which all mankind received) — If righteousness is 
by nature, then Christ is dead in vain ! But if 
Christ be not dead in vain, then all human na- 
ture can be justified and redeemed from the most 
just anger of God, that is from vengeance, by no 

means, 

(m) Rom. c. 10. v* 14-^-17, 18, 



44^ Quotations from the Father^ [chap. % 
means, except by faith and the sacrament of the 
blood of Christ. 55 — Vol. 10. p. 128. 

tf£ If he (Pelagius) will agree that the will, 
itself, and the action, are assisted by God, and so 
assisted that we cannot will or do any thing well 
without that assistance, no controversy will be 
left between us, as far as I can judge, concerning 
the assistance of the grace of God." — Vol. 10, 
p. 251. 

After describing a person, who, when he de- 
parts from this life, will be received into the 
kingdom of Christ, he adds, " Wherefore, except 
on account of faith ? which, although it saves no 
man without works, (for that is not a reprobate 
faith which worketh by love) yet by it sins also 
are forgiven, because the just live by faith." 
Vol.* 10. p. 457. — " This (says Menardus, an 
editor and commentator of Barnabas's Epistles) 
rightly explains the meaning of this passage, 
4 The just iiveth by faith namely, not by a soli- 
tary and naked faith, which is reprobate, which 
is void of. good works, but by that faith which 
worketh by love, which is joined with good 
works." — Coteler. Ed. Apost. Fathers, vol". 1. 
p. 20. 

" God has revealed to us by his holy Scrip- 
tures, that there is free-will in man." — Vol. 10. 
p.. 7 1 8, And, after quoting a variety of passages, 

he 



Chap. V.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 449 

he adds, " As, therefore, we have proved by the 
foregoing testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, that 
there is free-will in man, to live well and to act 
rightly, so let us see what the Divine testimonies 
are concerning grace, without which we can do 
nothing good." — Vol. 10. p. 721. 

. Having produced these passages from Augus- 
tine, I think it right to add, that very -different 
opinions are maintained in many parts of his 
works, and particularly in his Treatise De Dono 
Perseverantiee. At the end of that Treatise he 
seems aware of the dangerous tendency of what 
he has there written concerning grace, predesti- 
nation, and faith, and thinks it necessary to pre- 
scribe the very words in which those doctrines 
ought to be delivered to persons who are not 
elect. 

CHRYSOSTOM^A. D. 39a. 
Benedict. Edit. 

" And what advantage is there in faith, if the 
life be not pure ? But you, perhaps, are ignorant 
of these things, as you are inattentive to all our 
concerns. But I will quote to you the declara- 
tion of Christ,- and observe whether the life be 
not inquired into,, or whether punishments be 
assigned only to faith and doctrines. For having 
G q gone 



45° Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. y. 

gone up into a mountain, seeing a great multi- 
tude surrounding him, after other exhortations he 
said, 6 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; 
but he that doeth the will of my Father (n )" 
He then quotes other passages to the same effect. 
Vol. 1. p. 52. 

" If wickedness were inherent in men by na- 
ture, any one might with reason resort to an ex- 
cuse. But since we are good or bad by our own 
free-will, what plausible ground could he assign, 
&c.?"— Vol. 1. p. 83. 

In speaking of the Apostles as persons to be 
imitated, he supposes some one to object, that 
they enjoyed an extraordinary portion of grace ; 
to which he answers, " If we were commanded 
to raise the dead, or to open the eyes of the blind, 
©r to cleanse lepers, or to make the lame to walk, 
or to cast out devils, or to cure any other diseases 
of that kind, this excuse would have, some weight 
But if a strict attention to conduct be required, 
and a display of obedience, where is the reason- 
ableness of this objection ? For you also enjoyed 
Divine grace at your baptism, and were made 
partaker of the Spirit, although not so as to be 
able to perform miracles, but in a degree suffi- 
cient to secure a right and correct behaviour; so 

that 

(n) Mdtt. c. 7, r, 2r. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 451 
that the perverseness lies m our own negligence 
only. And Christ in that day (0) does not give 
his rewards to those who have barely worked 
miracles, but to these who have performed his 
commands. ' Come/ says he, ' ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world — not because 
ye worked miracles, but because 6 I was an-hun- 
gred, and ye gaa-e me meat ; I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink ; I iHis a stranger, and ye took 
me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I w r as sick, 
and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came 
unto me ( pj* And among the beatitudes he no 
where places those who work miracles, but those 
who lead a virtuous life. Therefore, although 
•that grace be now contracted, this circumstance 
will not; be able to injure us ; noi can we urge it 
in excuse for ourselves, when we give an account 
of our actions. For we admire those blessed per- 
sons, not on account of their miracles, for they 
were wholly derived from the power of God ; but 
because they displayed an angelic conduct; and 
that is the effect of their own diligence, with assist- 
ance from above For a virtuous conduct, 

even without miracles, shall be rewarded, and not 

the 

(0) Luke, c. 10. v. 12. 2 Tim. c, f. t. 18, 
(p) Matt, c, 25. v. 34—36. 

6 Q 2 



452 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

the less on that account ; but an ungodly life, 
even with miracles, shall not be able to escape 
punishment. So that this mode of reasoning is 
superfluous ; and not only superfluous, but dan- 
gerous, and affording a handle to many heretics. 
For if they become thus admirable, not through 
their own free-will, but only through the grace of 
Christ, what prevents all men from being so ? 
For grace, if it did not first require our own exer- 
tions, would have been abundantly poured into 
the minds of all men. For God is no respecter of 
persons. But, because it requires our own exer- 
tions, on that account it accompanies and remains 
with some, but it leaves others ; and the rest it 
does not reach even at first. But that God, 
having at first examined the will, so gave grace 
before that Blessed Person displayed any thing to 
be admired, hear what he says concerning him ; 
* He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name 
before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of 
Israel (q). 9 He who searcheth our hearts, de- 
clared these things before grace was- given. Let 
us not then, O beloved, deceive ourselves, saying 
that it is impossible for any one to be like Paul. 
There will no more be another Paul in grace and 
miracles ; but with respect to correctness of life, 
any person who wishes, may be such an one#- 

But 

(q) A&S, C. 9. V. IJ* 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenet* of Calvinism. 453 

But if there be no such persons, it proceeds 
solely from want of will." — Vol. 1. p. 136. 

" He wills, that even those who do not believe 
him, being converted, should be saved and be- 
lieve, as St. Paul says, ' Who will have all men 
to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of 
the truth (r) : And he himself said to the Jews, 
' I am not come to call the righteous, but sin- 
ners to repentance^.' And 'I will have 
mercy, and not sacrifice (t)." But when, after 
enjoying so great care, they will, not reform, 
and acknowledge the truth, even then he does 
not forsake them. But though they have volun- 
tarily deprived themselves of eternal life, he still 
gives them all things for the present life, making 
the sun to rise upon the bad, and the good, and 
sending rain upon the just, and the unjust, and 
affording them all other things for the support of 
this present life" — Vol. 1. p. 168. 

" Every man has his proper gift of God, one 
after this manner, another after that. Observe 
the never- failing, but always conspicuous, cha- 
racter of apostolical modesty ; he calls his own 
virtue the gift of God ; and when he has laboured 
much, he attributes the whole to the Lord. And 

where 

fr) 1 Tim. c. 2. v. 4. (s) Matt. c. 9, v. 13. 
(t) Hos. c. 6. v. 6. 
G G 3 



454 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
where is the wonder, if he does this with respect 
to continence, when he uses the same form in 
speaking of preaching, in which he had under- 
gone ten thousand labours, constant tribulation, 
inexpressible hardships, daily death ? What does 
he say upon this subject ? ' I laboured more 
abundantly than they all ; yet not I, but the 
grace of God which was with me (u )' He does 
not say, that a part was his, and a part God's. 
This is like a grateful servant, to consider nothing 
as his own, but all things his masters ; to think 
nothing his own, but ail things his Lords. And 
he does the same thing in another place ; for 
after he had said ; c Having gifts, differing ac- 
cording to the grace that is given to us Mr h®- 
goes on to reckon among these gifts, conduct in 
magistracies, mercy, and almsgiving ; but it is evi- 
dent to everyone, that these things are virtues, and 
not gifts. These things I have noticed, that when 
you shall hear him saying, Every man hath his 
proper gift, you may not be idle, or say to your- 
self, the thing does not require my exertion ; 
Paul called it a gift ; for he expresses himself 
thus from modesty, and not from a desire of 
reckoning continence as a gift. For, if it be a 
■giftj why do you threaten them, saying, that 'they 

have 

(u) I Cor. c. 15. v. 10. 
(x) Rom. c, 12, y e 6 a 



en ai\ v.] opposed to the Tenets of Cahmism. 455 

have damnation, because they have cast off their 
first faith (y).\ For Christ has no where de- 
nounced punishment against those who have not 
gifts, but every where against those who do not 
lead a right life ; and therefore what is particu- 
larly required of him is, a virtuous behaviour and 
irreproachable conduct. But the distribution of 
gifts does not depend upon the will of him who 
receives, but upon the determination of him who 
gives. On that account, he no where praises 
those who perform miracles, but he checks the 
exultation of his disciples, who were elated on 
this account, saying, ' Rejoice not, that the devils 
obey you (z)J For those who are any where 
pronounced to be blessed, are the merciful, the 
humble, the meek, the pure in heart, the peace- 
makers, persons of these or of similar charac- 
ters (a)T — Vol ]. p. 295. 

u Whence it is evident, that obedience or dis- 
obedience to his exhortations is in our own power, 
and that we suffer no necessity, or tyranny from 
him." — Vol. 1. p. 729. 

" If you be a Christian, beiieve in Christ ; if 
you believe in Christ, shew me faith by works." 
Vol. 2. p. 62. 

« God, 

(y) i Tim. c.5. v. 12. 

(%) Luke, c. 10. v. 17 Sc 20. 

(a) Matt. c. 5. v. 1, &c. 

Q G 4 



45 °* Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 

" God, from the first formation of man, im- 
planted in him the law of nature. And what is 
the law of nature ? He framed for us conscience, 
and enabled us to know from ourselves the dif- 
ference between good and evil."- — Vol. 2. p. 127. 

u God is able not only to correct those who 
are made of clay, by the washing of regeneration, 
but also, through sincere repentance, to bring 
back those to their former state, who have fallen 
after they have received the influence of the Spi- 
rit." — Vol. 2. p. 230, 

" As there is no advantage to those who sow r , 
when they cast their seed by the way side : so is 
there no ad vantage to us from being called Chris- 
tians, unless we perform works suitable to that 
appellation. I will, if you please, produce to y ou 
a witness deserving of credit, James the brother 
of God, who says, ' Faith without works is 
dead (b)! Wherefore, the working of works is 
every where necessary ; for if that be wanting, 
the appellation of Christians can be of no service 
to us." — Vol. 2. p. 348. 

" Since he has made us masters of the choice 
of bad and good actions, and wishes us to be vo- 
luntarily good ; therefore, if we be not willing, he 
does not force, he does not compel ; for to be 
good by force is not to be good at. all."— Vol. 2, 
p. 380. 

" That 

(b) James, c, 2. v. 26» 



chap, v.] opposed io the Tenets of Calvhiiwh. 457 

" That we may understand the diffe enee be- 
tween the traitqr and the disci] les, let us attend 
to what follows ; tor the Evangelist relates every 
thing to us with accuracy. When these things, 
he says, happened, when the treason succeeded, 
when Judas destroyed himself, when he made 
those wicked bargains, and sought an opportunity 
to betray him : then came the disciples to him, 
saying, • Where wilt thou that we prepare tor 
thee to eat the passover fe) ' Have you seen the 
disciples? Have you seen the disciple? The 
one was busy about betraying him ; the others 
about ministering unto him. The one entered 
into agreements, and was anxious to receive the 
price of his blaster's blood ; the other? prepare 
themselves to serve him. But both he and they 
had enjoyed the advantage of seeing the same 
miracles, and hearing the same instructions ; 
Whence then arose the difference? From the 
will ; for this is the cause of men being good or 
bad." — Vol. 2. p. 301. 

" When }'ou hear these things, do not imagine 
that the calling, carries with it necessity ; for God 
does not compel, but leaves men masters of their 
free-will, even after they are called." — Vol. 2. 
p. 4<J2. 

' If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat 

the 

(c) Matt. c. 26. v. 17. 



45$ Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
the good of the land ; but If ye refuse and rebel, 
ye shall be devoured with the sword : for the 
mouth of the Lord hath spoken \i(d )* Do you 
see. how God speaks, and what laws he lays 
clown ? Hear also how Fate speaks, and l;ow it 
lays clown contrary laws; and learn how the 
former are declared by a Divine Spirit, but the 
latter by a wicked demon, and a savage beast. 
God has said, ' If ye be willing and obedient/ 
making us masters of virtue and wickedness, and 
placing them within our own power. But what 
does the other say ? that it is impossible to avoid 
what is decreed by Fate, whether we will or not. 
God snys, If ye be willing^ ye shall eat the good 
of the land : but Fate says, although we be wil- 
ling, unless it shall be permitted us, this will is of 
no use. God says, If ye will not obey my words, 
a sword shall devour you ; Fate says, although we 
be not willing, if it shall be granted to us, we are 
certainly saved. Does not Fate say this ? What 
then can be clearer than this opposition ? What 
can be more evident than this war, which the dia- 
bolical teachers of wickedness have thus shame- 
lessly declared against the divine oracles ? But, 
as I have said, that demons and men like demons 
(I mean the Greeks) should believe these things, 
is no wonder : but that you, who were thus en* 

joying 

(d) Is. c. I. V. 19, 20. 



chap, v.] opposed to ike Tenet? of Calvinism. 459 

joying the divine and saving instruction, should 
despise these things, and adopt those absurdities, 
which destroy the soal, this is of ail things the 
most grievous/ 1 — VoL 2. p. 758. 

" In proof of what I have said, I will quote 
to you the words of Christ himself : he said to 
Peter, * Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, 
that he may sift you as wheat ; but I have prayed 
for thee, that thy faith fail not ( e) :' What does 
this sifting mean? To whirl about, to move, to 
shake, as when things are sifted ; but I, says he, 
prevented it, knowing that you cannot bear 
temptation. For the expression, • that your faith 
may not fail/ shews that if he had permitted, his 
faith would have failed. But if Peter, the warm 
admirer of Christ, who exposed his lite ten thou- 
sand times for him, and was always the foremost 
of the Apostles, and was pronounced blessed by 
his Master, and was called Peter on that account, 
because he had an unshaken and immovable faith, 
would have been carried away, and would have 
fallen from his profession, if Christ had permitted 
the devil to tempt him as much as he wished, what 
other person will be able to stand without his 
assistance ? Wherefore Paul also says, 4 God 
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 
above that ye are able : but will, with the tempta- 
tion. 

(e) Luke, c. 22. v. 31, 32. 



460 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

[i n, also make a way to escape, that ye may be 
able to bear it(f)S For he not only does not 
suffer a temptation to be brought above our 
strength, but even in that which is not above our 
strength, he is present, supporting and assisting 
us, when we shall first have contributed what we 
have of our own, namely, willingness, hope in 
him, thanksgiving, perseverance, patience. For 
Dot only in dangers which are above our strength, 
but also in those which are not above our strength, 
we stand in need of assistance, from above, if we 
would resist manfully." — Vol. 3. p. 35. 

" Let us constantly both preserve a right faith, 
and lead a good life, since it is every where de- 
clared to us, that without it there will be no 
advantage in right doctrines."' — Vol. 3. p. 239. 

u But why does he call it the Spirit of Faith, 
and reckon it in the catalogue of graces ? For if 
faith be a grace, and be given by the Spirit only> 
and be no merit of our own, neither those who 
disbelieve, will be punished, nor those who believe, 
praised. For such is the nature of graces given, 
that they have no crowns, no rewards. For a 
gift is not the merit of those who receive, but the 
liberality of him who gives. Therefore he ordered 
his disciples not to rejoice, because thty cast out 
devils; and he expelled from the kingdom of 

heavea 

(f) 1 Cor. c. ic. v. 13. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 461 

heaven those who prophesied in his name, and per- 
formed many miracles, since they had no claim 
from their own right actions, but wished to be 
saved by gifts only. If, then, this is the nature of 
faith, and we have contributed nothing ourselves 
to it, but every thing is of the grace of the 
Spirit, and it has infused itself into our minds, 
and we are to receive no reward for it, how 
is it that he says, ' With the heart man be- 
lieveth unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation (g) ?' Because 
faith is the merit of the virtue of him who be- 
lieveth. But how does he intimate the same 
thing in another place, saying, ' To him that 
worketh not, but believeth on him that justirieth 
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous- 
ness (h)\ if the whole be of the grace of the 
Spirit? And how did he give to the patriarch 
Abraham many crowns of praise on account of 
it? Because, despising all present things, he 
trusted in hope, beyond hope. Why then does 
he call it the Spirit of Faith ? From a desire of 
shewing, that to believe at tirst, and to obey when 
called, is from our own good disposition. But 
after the foundation of faith is laid, we want the 
assistance of the Spirit, that it may remain con- 
stantly unshaken and nnmovable. For neither 

God, 

(g) Rom. c. 10. v. 10. (h) Rom. c. 4. v. 5, 



462 Quotations from the Fathers, [chaf. v. 
God, nor the grace of the Spirit, prevents our 
choice ; but it calls and waits, so that we go of 
our own accord and willingly; then, after we 
have thus gone, it supplies all assistance from 
itself. For since the devil, after we have ap- 
proached Faith, immediately makes his attack, 
being desirous of extracting this good root, and 
eager to sow tares, and to corrupt the genuine 
and pure seed ; then we want the assistance of 
the Spirit, that, like a diligent husbandman, assi- 
duously watching over our soul, he may, by much 
care and foresight, always guard this young plant 
of faith. Therefore in his Epistle, he com- 
manded the Thessalonians, saying, ' Quench 
not the Spirit (I) ; shewing, that if the grace of 
the Spirit has entered into us, we shall hereafter 
be able to resist the devil, and all his wiles. For 
if no one call Jesus, Lord, but by the Holy 
Spirit, much more he will not be able to have his 
faith safe and rooted, except by the Holy Spirit." 
Vol. 3. p. 263. 

" He (Adam) was the cause of all the evils to 
himself, as you will hereafter learn, both of the 
loss of so great good, and the condemnation 
which he underwent on account of his disobe- 
dience." — Vol. 4. p. 120. 

44 Have you seen how the Lord endowed our 

nature 

(!) 1 Thess. c. 5. v. 19. 



til a p. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism* 463 

nature with free will ? For tell me how it hap- 
pened, that those hastened to wickedness, and 
made themselves liable to punishment ; but this 
man chose virtue, and, by avoiding communica- 
tion with them, escaped punishment. Is it not evi- 
dent that it was because each by his own free-will 
chose either wickedness or virtue ? For if it wer$ 
not so, and if free-will were not implanted in our 
nature, neither the one ought to be punished, nor 
the other to receive the reward of virtue. But 
since every thing is left in our own will, after 
grace is given from above, on that account both 
punishments are prepared for sinners, and rewards 
for those who act rightly," — Vol. 4. p. 1 94. 

" Let us then, I beseech you, imitate that 
just person, and be diligent to contribute our 
own exertions, -that we may make ourselves wor- 
thy of assistance from God. For on that account 
he w r aits for opportunities from us, that he may 
display his great kindness. Let us not, then, 
. through negligence deprive ourselves of his gifts ; 
but let us hasten and be eager to lay hold of the 
beginning, and to enter upon the path which 
leads to virtue, that, enjoying assistance from 
above, we may be able to arrive at the end. 
For we cannot rightly do. any tiling which is good, 
if we do not enjoy aid from above."-— Vol. 4. 
p. 241. 



464 Quotations from the Fathers, [chai\ t. 

In speaking of Abraham, he sa}?s, " That just 
man possessed every virtue in an eminent degree ; 
for he was not only affectionate to his relations, 
hospitable, and compassionate, but he also dis- 
played all other virtues in great abundance. For 
whether he had occasion to display patience, 
you will find him arrived at that high eminence ; 
or humility, you will again see him yielding to no 
one, but surpassing all ; or if he had occasion to 
display faith, in this respect also he will be found 
more meritorious than any other person. For his 
soul is, as it were, an animated image, exhibit- 
ing in itself the various colourings of virtue. 
What excuse then is left for us, who although one 
person possessed in himself all virtues, are so 
destitute as to be unwilling to exercise a single 
virtue ? For that we are destitute of all good 
qualities, not from want of power, but from want 
of will, is clearly manifest from hence, that many 
of our fellow-creatures may be pointed out, who 
were illustrious for their virtue. And the very 
circumstance, that this patriarch, who lived before- 
the time of grace, and before the law, reached such 
a measure of virtue by himself, and from his 
natural knowledge, is sufficient to deprive us 
of every excuse. But, perhaps, some will say, 
this man enjoyed great favour from God, and 
that the God of the universe shewed great regard 
12 for 



& hap. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 465 

for him; This I acknowledge ; but unless he 
had first shewn things from himself, he would iiot 
have enjoyed things from God. Do not there- 
fore consider this only, but, by examining every 
particular, learn, that having first given proof 
of his Own inherent virtue in all things, he was 
on that account thought worthy of the assist- 
ance of G od. And this we have often pointed 
but to you, that when he departed from his 
native country, he had not received the seeds 
of piety from his ancestors ; . but shewed a great 
regard to God, from within and of himself; and 
when lately removed from Chaldea, being again 
Suddenly ordered to change his own for a foreign 
country; he did not hesitate or delay, but imme- 
diately did what he was commanded, and that 
without knowing where his wandering would end : 
he hastened and was anxious to obey in circum- 
stances of uncertainty, as if they had been con- 
fessedly clear; thinking that the command of God 
Was to be preferred to every thing. Have you 
observed how, from the beginning and at the very 
outset, he acted from himself, and on that account 
he enjoyed every day the more abundant assist* 
ance of God? In the same manner let us also, 
my beloved, if we wish to enjoy favour froni 
above, imitate the patriarch, and not delay th® 
exercise of virtue; but let us embrace, and so 
XI H zealously 



466 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. V. 

zealously practise, every virtue, that we may 
draw down upon us that eye which never sleepeth, 
to reward us. For he that knoweth the secrets 
of our minds, when he sees us displaying a sound 
disposition, and zealous in our struggles for vir- 
tue, immediately affords his assistance, at the 
same time lightening our labours, and strengthen- 
ing the infirmity of our nature, and dispensing 
abundant recompense. And truly, in the Olym- 
pic contests you will find nothing of this kind ; 
the Gymnasiareh stands still, only looking at those 
who contend, unable to give any assistance, but 
waiting till victory shall be declared. But it is 
not so with our Master; he contends on our 
side ; he reaches out his hand ; struggles together 
with us, and almost, as it were, delivers up to 
us the subdued enemy, and does every thing that 
we may be able to prevail and be victorious, and 
that he may place upon our heads the crown that 
fadeth net away. Let us not then be idle ; but, 
knowing that there is a contest, and that there 
are struggles, we ought to be prepared for the 
conflict : let us daily have our minds strong and 
vigorous, that, enjoying assistance from above, 
we may be able to bruise the head of that wicked 
beast, I mean the enemy of our salvation^ 
Vol. 4> p. 423. 

" This was done not without some reason, but 
6 that 



Chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 467 

that the prophecy of God might be fulfilled, 
which says, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have 
I hated. For since God foresaw what would 
happen, he declared before-hand the virtue of 
the one, and the unworthy disposition of the, 
other/' — Vol. 4. p. 499. 

" Virtue and vice depend upon our own will 
after grace is given from above : if we be diHgent, 
we may become conspicuous for virtue 1 ai id on 
the other hand, if we be negligent, we fall into 
the abyss of sin. For this is the thing in which 
we differ from brute animals, that we are honoured 
with the gift of reason by the merciful God, and 
the knowledge of good and evil is imolanted in 
pur nature. Let no one then pretend that he 
neglects virtue from ignorance, or from his not 
having any one to guide him into its path. For 
we have a sufficient teacher, conscience ; and it 
is impossible that any one should be deprived of 
its assistance. For the knowledge of what he 
ought to do, is implanted in the very formation of 
man ; that, displaying his own good disposition as 
in a contest, in undergoing the labours of virtue 
in the present life, he may receive the rewards 
of virtue ; and having laboured for a short time, 
he may be thought worthy of an everlasting 
crown ; and having chosen virtue in this transitory 
world, he may enjoy immortal happiness to end- 
h xi 2 less 



468 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 
less ages. Knowing this, beloved, let us not 
betray this. privilege of our nature ; let us not be 
ungrateful for so great a benefit, or, by pursuing 
short-lived seeming pleasure, lay up for ourselves 
lasting sorrow ; but, always seeing before us that 
eye which sleepeth not, which knoweth the secrets 
of our hearts, let us so regulate our whole con- 
duct, and, fortifying-ourselves with the arms of 
the Spirit, and displaying our own good dispo- 
sition, let us so draw down assistance from above, 
that enjoying co-operation from thence, and hav- 
ing subdued our enemy, and defeated his wiles, 
we may be able to obtain that happiness which 
the Lord has promised to those who love him^ 
Vol. 4. p. 522. t 

" Although he enjoyed assistance from above, 
yet he first displayed his own strength. And thus 
let us also rest assured, that though we make tea 
thousand endeavours, yet we shall never be able 
to do any thing rightly unless we enjoy assistance, 
from above. For unless we enjoy assistance from 
thence, we can never do any thing rightly which w& 
ought to do ; so again, unless we contribute what 
we have of our own, we shall not be able to obtain • 
assistance from above. Let us therefore studiously 
endeavour, both to contribute what we have of 
our own, and to draw down favour from above, 
that both by our own exertions, and the kindness 

/ of 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 469 
-of God, our virtue may daily increase, and that 
we may enjoy a large share of grace from above." 
Vol. 4. p. 569. 

" Since then there are such snares, and such 
attacks, do thou lead roe in the way ; for I have 
need of thy assistance. For to be led in the 
way is derived from him ; but let it be our endea- 
vour to be worthy of being conducted by that 
hand. For if you be unclean, that hand does 
not direct you ; or if you be covetous, or have 
any other spot." — Vol. 5. p. 35. 

" Luke writes concerning a certain woman, 
that the Lord opened her heart, that she attended 
unto the things which were spoken by Paul (k) : 
and Christ says, * No man can come to" me, 
except the Father draw him (I J : If therefore 
this be the act of God, in what respect do the 
unbelievers sin, since neither the Spirit assists 
them, nor does the Father draw them, nor the Son 
conduct them ? For he says of himself, * I am the 
-way (m); but this he says shewing that there 
is need of him, in order to be conducted to the 
Father. If therefore the Father draws, the Son 
conducts, the Spirit enlightens, how do they sin, 
who are neither drawn, nor conducted, nor en- 
lightened ? 

(k) Acts, c. 16. v. 14. - (I) John, c, 6. v. 44, 
(m) John, c. 14. v. 6. 

11 H 3 



470 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap.v. 
lightened ? Because they do not make themfelves 
worthy to be thus enlightened. Observe what 
happened to Cornelius ; for he did not find this 
in himself ; but God called him, because he pre- 
viously made himself worthy. On this account, 
Paul, reasoning concerning faith, said, 1 And 
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (n ). 
However, he does not leave you destitute of good 
actions. For if he draws, and conducts, he 
nevertheless requires an obedient mind, and then 
he adds assistance from himself. Wherefore, in 
another place, Paul says, ' To them who are 
called according to his purpose (o ) : for our 
virtue and our salvation are not subject to neces- 
sity. For though the greater part be his, nay 
almost the whole, yet he has left some little for 
us, that there may be a fair ground for reward." 
Vol. 5. p. 310. 

" Do you see how great diligence this expres- 
sion requires from us ? For, because they men- 
tion assistance, and call for aid from above, he 
exhorts and advises, saying as it were thus, If 
ye wish to obtain this, contribute what you have 
of your own. But what does he advise ? Hear : 
i Take heed lest thy foot slip ; that is, do no* 
err, do. not stumble ; and then thou shalt have 
God stre idling out his hand, neither leaving 

thee, 

(n) Eph. c. 2, v. 8. (q) Rom. c. 8. v. 28. 



€hap. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 471 

thee, nor forsaking thee. Therefore the beginning 
is from ourselves, and this we have in our power. 
But since it is in our power, when we wish to obtain 
any thing, we ought to contribute whatever we 
have ; for this is the will of God : though small and 
of little value, yet we ought to contribute what we 
have, not inertly, or idly, or supinely, but with 

energy and zeal for our salvation If you 

supply what you have of your own, his assistance 
will follow. This appears from hence, that 
although we contribute what we have, yet we still 
want his aid, that we may be in safety, that we 
may remain immovable."— Vol. 5. p. 336. 

" As it is impossible to bring things to a con- 
clusion without the assistance of God, so even 
with God s assistance it is not possible to obtain 
the end, if we ourselves be idle and supine." 
Vol. 5. p. 355. 

" Many, having a correct faith, but leading a 
corrupt life, have been of all mankind most 
miserable."- — -Vol. 5. p. 360, 

" 6 O Lord, thou hast searched me out, and 
known me (q) ; What, do you say that God 
knew after he had searched out, but did not 
know before he searched out? No, God forbid. 
For how should this be, when God knows all 
things before they happen ? But the expression, 

Thou, 

(i) Ps. 139. v.. j. 

ft H 4 



4/2 Quotations from the Fathers \ [chap, 

Thou hast searched me out, means, Thou knowest 
me accurately. For as the Apostle, when ho 
says that he searcheth the hearts, does not mean 
to convey the idea of ignorance, 'but of accurate 
knowledge, so likewise the Psalmist, when he 
says, Thou hast searched me out, means the 
clearest knowledge, that is, you know me accu-? 
rately. • Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine 
up-rising :' by down-sitting and up-rising he means 
the whole life ; for in this consists life, in actions, 
in works, in goings in, in comings out. Then as 
he had said in the beginning, Thou hast searched 
me out, lest any one should be so absurd as to 
think, that he knew by means of searching out, 
or by the experience of facts, because he said, 
Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising, 
observe how he corrects it, by subjoining, ' Thou 
understandest my thoughts long before :' for by 
this he shews, that he did not know by searching 
out, that he had no need to search out, but he 
knows all things by his attribute of prescience. 
For he who knows the thoughts in the mind, 
dpes not want the searching out by facts; espe- 
cially as he not only knows the thoughts when 
they are in the mind, but before they rise in the 
mind ; and not only before they rise in the mind, 
but long before ; therefore, being willing to shew 
this, he added > Thou understandest my thoughts 

long 



I 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 475 
long before. If then God knows the thoughts, 
why does he add the searching out by facts? Not 
that he himself may learn, bat that he may prove 
those who persevere. For he knew Job before 
his trial, and therefore he bore testimony, saying, 
that he is a perfect and upright man, and one 
that feareth God ; but he added the trial to make 
him more confirmed, to expose the wickedness 
of the devil, and to make others more diligent 
by his example. And why do you wonder that 
he did this in the case of Job, since he does the 
same thing with respect to sinners ? For he clearly 
knew that the Ninevites did not deserve to be 
destroyed, but that they would repent and re^ 
form : but nevertheless he makes the trial by facts, 
and every where gives proof of his care and 
mercy, not content with his knowledge. There- 
fore the only-begotten Son of God says, 'If I 
do not the works of my Father, believe me not ; 
but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the 
works (rj" But as many of a dull mind and 
perception say things of this kind, that because 
he has chofe^n some, and loved some, and hated 
others, therefore some are wicked and others* 
good, he persuades by facts, correcting such 
opinions, and producing a, proof from works ; and 
lie declares, even before the thing takes place, that 

such 

(r) John, c. 10. v. 37, 38. 



474 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
such a man will be virtuous, that they may under- 
stand his attribute of prescience ; and he brings 
the proof by facts, lest any absurd person should 
say, that a man became such as he was through 
the prediction. Observe what Paul says upon 
this subject; 1 For the children being not yet 
born, neither having done any good or evil, that 
the purpose of God, according to election, might 
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it 
was said unto her, the elder shall serve the 
younger (&).' For it was not necessary to wait 
for the event of things, but beforehand he knew 
who would be wicked, and who would be the con- 
trary." — Vol. 5. p. 409. 

" We ought to contribute what we have of our 

own we ought also to invoke assistance 

from God, that our exertions may succeed/' — 
Yol. 5. p. 432. 

" He speaks again of mercy, which is the 
greatest glory of his kingdom, that he not only 
supports those who are standing, but he does not 
suffer them to fall, who are ready to fall, and he 
raises up those who are fallen; and what is 
wonderful, this he does to all ; not to this or that 
person, but to all, although they be slaves, or 
poor, or mean, or descended from those who are 
Baean ; for he is the Lord of all. Nor does he 

pas& 

(s) Rom. c. 9. v. u, 12. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 475 
pass by those who are fallen, or neglect those wha 
are tottering. This he does in the whole 'human 
race, this he does in every individual. But if 
some of those who have fallen do not rise again, 
this is not to be imputed to him, who is willing to 
raise them up ; but to them, who are unwilling to 
rise again : since he was willing to raise up even 
Judas, after he had fallen, and did every thing for 
it ; but Judas was unwilling. He raised up 
David who had fallen, and made him strong. 
He supported Peter when about to fail." — Vol. 5. 
p. 473- 

" He gave the written law to no other persons. 
For all had the natural law declaring in them 
what was good, and what was bad. For God 
when he formed man, implanted in him this im- 
partial judgement, the witness of conscience in 
everyone. But to the Jews he gave this pecu- 
liar distinction, that of declaring to them by writ- 
ing what is lawful. Therefore he did not say 
that he did not do in any other nation, but that 
he aid not do so: that is, he did not send them 
tables, or a written law, or Moses as a legislator, 
or the other things which took place in Mount 
Sinai. But ail these things the Jews alone en- 
joyed as their peculiar privilege. All mankind, 
however, had a sufficient law in their conscience, 
which Paul also declared in these words : ' When 

the 



'47^ Quotations from the Fathers, ,[chap. r» 
the Gentiles, which have not the law, clo by na- 
ture the things contained in the law, these, having 
not the law, are a law unto themselves' ( t)T— 
Vol. 5. p. 486. 

" What would be more unjust, than that those 
should be punished, who are not able to do what 
ought to be done, or that those should surfer, whose 
actions are not in their own power? Therefore, 
when he appears beseeching God, that their pu- 
nishment may not be more severe, he shews that 
they deserve to be punished. And this establishes 
free-will. For if they were not capable of doing what 
(Ought to be done, he ought not to have intreated 
for a milder punishment, but for no punishment 
at all. Or rather, there was no occasion for any 
intreaty ; for God does not want any one to 
intreat him not to punish the innocent. Po I say 
God ? since not even a man who has any under- 
standing wants to be so intreated. When there- 
fore, the prophet appears intreating for the Jews, 
it is clear that he intreats for sinners. But this 
is sin, when having it in our power not to trans* 
gress the law, we do transgress it. It is therefore 
perfectly evident that our right conduct is in our 
own power, as well as in God's. Of this kind is 
€he passage, ' So then it is not of him that willeth, 
por of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth 

mercy ; 3 

(t) Rom. c. 2. v. 14. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 47'f 

mercfyf a) : r And why do I run, says he, and why 
do_ I will, if every thing be not in my power F 
That by willing and running you may obtain the 
assistance and favour of God, so that he may co- 
operate with you j and stretch out his hand, and 
conduct you to the end. For if you omit this* 
and cease to run and to will, neither will God 
stretch out his hand, but he will also de- 
part. Whence does this appear ? Hear what he 
says to Jerusalem ; £ How often would I have 
gathered thy children together, and ye would 
not ! Behold, your house is left unto you deso- 
late (cvjf Do you see how God departed be- 
cause they were unwilling ? Therefore we have 
need to will and to run, that we may gain the 
favour of God. This then the Prophet declares, 
that to act rightly, is not in our own pow r er, but de- 
pends upon the assistance of God ; but to choose, 
is in our own power and will. But some one 
may say, that if acting rightly depends upon the 
assistance of God, and it is not in my power to 
act rightly, I ought not to be blamed ; for when 
I shall have done every thing in my power, and 
shall have willed, and chosen, and entered upon 
the business, but he upon whom the success de- 
pended shall not have assisted me, or stretched 
out his hand, I am freed from all blame. But 

this- 

(u) Rom. c. 9. v. 1 6. (x) Matt. c. 23. v. 37, 38. 



47 8 Quotations fr§m the Fathers, [cha?. v. 

this is not the real case. For it is impossible if 
wc will, and choose, and resolve, that God should 
desert U3. For if he encourages, and exhorts 
those who are unwilling, to be willing, much more 
does he not desert those who choose of their own 
accord. ' For look, says he, at the generations 
of old, and see, did ever any trust in the Lord, 
and was confounded ? or did any abide in his 
fear, and was forsaken? (y).' And again, Paul 
says, ' Hope maketh not ashamed (z); that is, 
hope in God : for it is impossible for any one to 
fail, who hopes in God with all his mind, and 
exerts himself to the utmost. And again, ' God 
is faithful, who will not surfer you to be 
tempted above that ye are able; but will, with 
the temptation, also make a way to escape, 
that ye may be able to bear it (a): 1 There- 
fore the wise man advises, saying, £ My son, 
if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy 
soul for temptation. Set thy heart aright, and 
constantly endure, and make not haste in time of 
trouble. Cleave unto him, and depart not away (b J. 9 
And again we are told, ( He that endureth to the 
end shall be saved ( cj. 9 These are- all rules, and 
laws, and unalterable decrees; and this ought to 
be fixed in your mind, that it is impossible that 

any 

(y) Ecclus. c. 2. v. io. (z) Rom. c. 5. v. 5. 
(a) 1 Cor. c. 10. 13. (b) Ecclus. c. 2. y. I, &c. 
(c) Matt. c. 10. v. 22. 



€HA*. v.] opposed to theTenets of Calvinism. 4f§ 
any one who is diligent and takes care for his 
own salvation, and makes all the exertion in his 
power, should ever be deserted by God. Do 
you not hear what he says to Peter : £ Simon, 
Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he 
may sift you as wheat ; but I have prayed for 
thee, that thy faith fail not ( d ). 9 For when he 
sees the burden too sreat for our strength, he 
sjretches out his hand and lightens the tempta- 
tion ; but when he sees us, from indolence and 
neglect, giving up our salvation, and not willing 
to be saved, he leaves and forsakes us. For he 
iocs not force or necessitate ; and as he acted 
with respect to instruction, so he acts upon this 
occasion. For he did not drag or compel those 
who were unwilling to hear, and went away : so 
he explained what was obscure and mysterious, 
to those who were attentive. So it is with re- 
spect to actions : those who are senseless, and 
unwilling, he does not compel or force ; but those 
who are of their own accord ready, he draws 
with great earnestness. Therefore Peter savs, 
4 Of a truth I perceive that in every nation, he 

that 

(d) Luke, c. 22. v. 31, 32. — I have given onr Bible 
translation of this passage, although it does not exactly 
correspond with the words in Chrysostom, who proba- 
bly quoted from memory. The same observation will 
apply to other passages of Scripture, as quoted by Chry- 
sostom, and also by other Fathers. 



4Sd Quotations from the Fathers, [cha£. ft 
that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is 
accepted with him (e).' And the prophet says the 
same thing, 1 If ye be willing and obedient, ye 
shall eat the good of the land ; but if ye refuse 
and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword(f)' 
Knowing therefore these things, that to will and 
to run is in our power, and that by willing and 
running w r e draw God to our assistance, and that 
having obtained his assistance, we shall bring our 
affairs to a prosperous conclusion, let us rise, my 
beloved, and exert all cur diligence in the sal- 
tation of our souls, that, having laboured here 
for a short time, we may enjoy immortal hap- 
piness to all eternity. 5 — Vol. 6. p, 165. 

" Do not think that baptism is sufficient, if 
you should afterwards be wicked ; for We have 
need of virtue, and much philosophy ..... Many 
of those who believed, were about to lead a life 
unworthy of their faith.'' — Vol. 7. p. 156. 

" Not only by the hope of future things, but 
also by other means, God has made virtue easy^ 
namely, by always co-operating with and assist- 
ing us. And if you will only supply a little 
exertion, all the rest will follow. For this reasori 
he wishes you to do a little, that the victory may 
be your own." — -Vol. 7. p. 220. 

" Do you observe how he teaches moderation, 

shewing 

(e) Acts, c. 10. v. 34, 35. (f) Is. c. 1. v. 19, 20. 



Chap, v,] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 481 

shewing that virtue does not depend upon our 
own diligence only, but also upon grace from 
above/' — Vol. 7. p. 251. 

In his Homily upon this text, ' Not every 
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter 
into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth 
the will of my Father which is in heaven fgj f 
he says, " In this passage Christ seems to me to 
reprove the Jews, who placed every thing in their 
dogmas, without any regard to their lives. There- 
fore St. Paul accuses them, saying, ' Behold, 
thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and 
makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will (h J 
but there shall be no advantage to you from 
thence, unless there be a correspondence in your 
life and works. But he did not stop here, but 
said much more ; 6 For many will say to me 
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied 
in thy namefij ? ' for he says, not only he who 
has faith but leads a careless life, is excluded 
from heaven, but although with his faith a person 
shall have performed many miracles, and have 
done nothing good, he also is equally excluded 
from those sacred gates." — Vol. 7. p. 299. 

a But this he said, not introducing neccessity, 
or indiscriminate and accidental chance, but 

shewing 

(g) Matt. c. 7. v. 21. (h) Rom. e. a. v. 17, 18, 
(i) Matt. c. 7. v. 22* 

II 



482 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

shewing that they are themselves the cause of 
all the evils, and being willing to declare that 
the thing is a gift, and a grace given from above. 
But because it is a gift, it does not take away 
free-will ; and this is manifest from what follows. 
Observe then how he shews that the beginning is 
from ourselves, lest the one should despair, and the 
other should be negligent, when they hear that it 
is a gift. ■ For whosoever hath, to him shall be 
given, and he shall have more abundance ; but 
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken 
away, even that he hath (k)J This expression 
is full of obscurity, but it shews unspeakable 
justice : for its meaning is this ; when any one 
has diligence and zeal, all things shall be given 
him from God : but when he shall be destitute 
of these qualities, and not contribute his own 
exertions, neither is any thing given him from 
God."— Vol. 7. p. 476. 

" Again they bring other objections, asking, 
And why did God make him fuch ? God did 
not make him fuch; far from it; for then he 
would not have punished him. For if we do not 
blame our servants for those things of which we 
are ourselves the cause, much less would the 
God of the Universe. But the objeclor says, 
Whence came he such ? From himself, and from 

his 

(k) Matt. c. 13, v. 12. 



tn a p. V.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 483 

his own negligence. What, from himself ? Ask 
thyself : For if the bad be not bad from them- 
selves, do not punish your servant, or reprove 
your wife for her offences, or beat your son, or 
accuse your friend, or hate your enemy who in- 
jures you. For all these deserve pity, not punish- 
ment, if they do not offend from themselves, 
But he says, I cannot philosophize. But when 
you shall perceive that it is not the fault of them, 
but of some necessity, you can philosophize. 
When your servant, prevented by illness, does not 
do what he is ordered, you not only do not blame 
him, but you pardon him. Thus you testify 
that some things are from himself, and some not 
from himself. So that if you had known that he 
was wicked because he was born so, you would 
not only not have accused him, but you would 
have forgiven him. For you would not forgive 
on account of illness, and refuse forgiveness on 
account of the act of God, if he had been made 
such from the beginning. And it is easy to con- 
fute these objectors by other arguments, for great 
is the abundance of truth. Why did you never 
blame a servant because he is not handsome, or 
tall, or' swift ? Because these things depend 
upon nature. Therefore he is free from blame, 
as far as the faults of nature are concerned ; and 
this no one will contradict. When, therefore, you 
I i 2 blame. 



484 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v, 
blame, you shew that it is not the fault of nature, 
but of the will. For if when we do not blame, 
we confess that the thing depends upon nature, 
it is clear that when we do blame, we declare that 
it is the fault of the will. Do not therefore use 
any perverse reasoning, or sophistry weaker than 
the spider's web, but answer me this question ; 
Did God make all men ? This is acknowledged 
by every one. How then does it happen that all 
men are not equal with respect to virtue or vice r 
Whence is it that some are honourable, and good, 
and modest ; some wicked and abandoned ? For 
if these things do not depend upon the will, but 
are derived from nature, how does this difference 
of character arise ? For if all be bad by nature, 
it is not possible that any should be good ; or if 
all be good by nature, no one can be bad. For 
if there be one common nature to all men, all 
men must be one and the same, either good or 
bad. But if we should say, that some are good 
by nature, and others bad, which would be con- 
trary to reason, as we have shewn, these things 
must be unalterable, for what is derived from 
nature is unalterable. But consider, all men are 
mortal, and liable to passions ; and no one can 
divest himself of his passions, however he may 
attempt it. But now we see that many from 
being good become bad, and from being bad 

become 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism* 485 

become good, the former by negligence, the latter 
by diligence ; which is a clear proof that these 
things are not derived from nature. For things 
derived from nature are not changed, nor is dili- 
gence necessary to acquire them. For as it re- 
quires no labour to see and to hear, so likewise 
would virtue require no exertion on our part, 
if it were conferred by nature." — V ol. 7. p. 595. 

<£ Wherefore, I beseech you, let us make every 
exertion, both to stand in the right faith and to 
lead a good life. For if we do not lead a life wor- 
thy of faith, we shall suffer extreme punishment. 
And this indeed the blessed Paul shewed in 
former times, when he said, ' All did eat the 
same meat, and all did drink the same spiritual 
drink,'' and he added, that they were not saved, 
for they were overthrown in the Wilderness. And 
Christ declared the same thing in the Gospels, 
when he introduced some who had cast out devils, 
and had prophesied, and were led away to 
punishment. And all his parables, such as that 
of the virgins (lj 9 that of the net(m ), that of the 
thorns (n ), that of the tree which brings not forth 
fruit ( ), require virtue displayed in works. He 
seldom discourses concerning dogmas, for they 
require no labour, but concerning life often, or 

rather 

CO Matt. c. 25. (m) Matt. c. 13, 

(n) Mark, c. 4. (0) Matt. c. 7> 

113 



486 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. t. 

rather every where ; for in this there is a constant 
war, and therefore labour. And why do I speak 
of the whole behaviour? for the neglect of a part 
of it causes great evils : for example ; mercy 
neglected casts those who do neglect it into hell- 
fire, although this is not the whole of virtue, but 
a part of it. Nevertheless the virgins, because 
they had it not, were punished ; and the rich man 
for this reason was tormented ; and those who 
did not feed the hungry were on this account 
condemned with the devil." Vol. 7. p. 640. — 
Other instances of the same kind are added. 

" The being called and purified was of grace, 
but that the person called and made pure should 
continue so, depends upon the diligence of those 
who are called. The being called does not 
proceed from merit, but from grace." — Vol. 7. 
p. 681. 

In commenting upon Matt. xxv. 34. ' Come, 
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world;' he says, " He does not say, receive, but 
inherit, as belonging to you, as derived from your 
Father, as your own, as due to you from above : 
For, says he, before you were born, these things 
were prepared and provided for you, since I 
knew that such would be your conduct." — Vol. 7. 

p. 760. 

In 



chap* v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 487 

In commenting upon these words, Matt. xxv. 41. 
c Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels y 
he says, " To these he says, ' Depart from me 
ye cursed,' no longer, by the Father, for he did 
not curse them, but their own works cursed 
them ; — - into everlasting fire, prepared' — not for 
you, but, ' for the devil and his angels.' For 
when he spoke of the kingdom, c Come ye blessed ? 
inherit the kingdom,' he added, £ prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world :' but he did not 
speak of the fire in the same manner, but — ' pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels :' For I, indeed, 
prepared the kingdom for you, but I prepared 
the fire not for you, but for the devil and his 
angels. But since you have cast yourselves into 
it, set that down to your own account." — Vol. 7. 
p. 760. 

Speaking of Judas Iscariot, he says, " And 
how, some one may object, did he become fuch 
a person ? he who was called by Christ ! Because 
the calling of God does not carry necessity with 
it, nor does it force the mind of those who are 
unwilling to choose virtue; but it exhorts, and 
'advises, and does every thing to persuade men 
to be good ; but if some will not consent; it does 
not impose any necessity upon them." — Vol. 7. 
P- 770. 

I 1 4 " Hence 



488 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

" Hence we learn an important maxim, that 
the will of man is not sufficient, unless a person 
enjoys assistance from above : and again, that we 
gain nothing by assistance from above, unless our 
own will be added. These two things Judas and 
Peter prove: for the one enjoying great assistance, 
was not benefited, because he was not willing, 
and did not contribute his own exertions ; but 
the other having a ready will, fell because he did 
not enjoy any assistance, for virtue is composed 
of these two things. Wherefore, I beseech you 
not to be supine, referring every thing to God> 
nor to think that, being diligent, you can do 
every thing right by your own labours. For God 
does not wish us to be supine. Therefore he 
does not do every thing himself, nor does he 
wish us to be arrogant." — Vol. 7. p. 787. 

" Let us glorify him both by faith and by- 
works, for sound doctrines are of no avail to sal- 
vation, if our life be corrupt." — Vol. 8. p. 31. 

" If God lightens every man that cometh into 
the world, how does it happen that so many 
have remained without light? For all have not 
known the worship of Christ : How then does he 
lighten every man? As far as depends upon him. 
But if some, voluntarily shutting the eyes of their 
understanding, were not willing to admit the rays 
of this light, their darkness was not in conse- 
quence 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 489 

quence of the nature of this light, but of the 
wickedness of those who voluntarily deprive them- 
selves of the gift. For grace is poured upon all, 
excepting neither Jew nor Greek, nor Barbarian, 
nor Scythian, nor free, nor slave, nor man, nor 
woman, nor old, nor young ; but coming to all 
equally, and calling them with equal honour. But 
those who are not willing to enjoy this gift, must 
with justice impute to themselves this blindness. 
For when the entrance being open to all, and no 
one hindering, some from an evil will remain 
without, they perish, not from any other person, 
but from their own wickedness." — Vol. 8. p. 48. 

" He speaks of the inexpressible blessings of 
those who received him, and briefly comprehends 
them in these words, saying, As many as received 
him, he gave them power to become the sons of 
God. Whether they be slaves, whether they be 
free ; whether they be Greeks, whether they be 
Barbarians, whether they be Scythians ; whether 
they be unwise, whether they be wise ; whether 
they be women, whether they be men ; whether they 
be young, whether they be old; whether they 
be ignoble, whether they be noble ; whether they 
be rich, whether they be poor ; whether they be 
governors, whether they be governed ; he says, 
all are thought worthy of this same honour. For 
faith, and the grace of the Spirit, taking away the 

inequality 



49<> Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
inequality of human conditions, reduced all into 
one shape, and stamped upon them one royal 
character. What could be equal to this kind- 
ness ? A king, formed out of the same clay that 
we are, does not condescend to enlist into the 
royal army, his fellow creatures, those who par- 
take of the same nature as himself, and who are 
often superior to him in disposition, if they happen 
to be slaves : But the only-begotten Son of God 
did not disdain to enrol into the list of sons, pub- 
licans and magicians, and slaves, and the meanest 
of mankind, many who were maimed in the body, 
and had a variety of defects. So great is the 
power of faith in him, such is the excellence of 
grace. And as the nature of fire, by being 
applied to metallic earth, immediately makes it 
gold, so much more does baptism make those 
who are washed, gold instead of clay, the Spirit 
like fire at this time descending into our souls, 
and burning up the image of the clay, and bring- 
ing the image of that which is heavenly, new and 
bright, and as it were shining out of a furnace. 
And why did he not say that he made them the 
sons of God, but, he gave them power to become 
the sons of God ? That he might shew that there 
is need of great diligence to keep the image of 
adoption, imprinted upon us at baptism, entirely 
free from spot or blemish ; and that he might at 



€hap. v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 491 

the same time declare, that no one shall be able 
to take this power from us, if we do not first take 
it from ourselves. For if they who have received 
authority over certain things from men, retain a 
power nearly as great as the donor's ; much more 
those who have obtained this honour from God, if 
we do nothing unworthy of this power, shall be 
the most powerful of men, inasmuch as he is th@ 
greatest and the best of all beings, who conferred 
this honour upon us. And at the same time he 
means to shew, that grace is not given indis- 
criminately, but to those who are willing to 
receive it, and diligently seek it ; for it is in their 
power to become sons. For if they do not first 
choose it, the gift does not come, nor does it 
operate. This, therefore, he has said, taking 
away necessity every where, and shewing freedom 
of will. For in these mysteries it is the part of 
God to give grace, and of man to supply faith. 
And after this there is need of much diligence. 
For it is not sufficient for the keeping of our 
purity, only to be baptized and to believe ; but it 
is necessary, if we would always enjoy this excel- 
lence, to exhibit a life worthy of it : but this, 
God has placed in our own power. For to be born 
according to this mystical birth, and to be puri- 
fied from all our former sins, this is effected by 
baptism ; but, to remain hereafter pure, and to 

admit 



4$2 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 
admit no spot afterwards, this is in our power, 
and depends upon our own diligence. On which 
account he has reminded us of the mode of our 
birth, and has pointed out its excellence, by com- 
paring it with our carnal birth ; — ' Which were 
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
nor of the will of man, but of God (p)J This 
he did, that, having learnt the vileness of our 
former birth by blood, and the will of the flesh, 
and having known the sublimity and nobleness of 
our second birth through grace, we should con- 
ceive a high idea of it, and worthy of the gift of 
Mm who hath begotten us, and that we should 
hereafter exert great diligence. For there is no 
small fear, lest defiling this beautiful robe by our 
future negligence and offences, we should be cast 
out of the vestibule and the bride-chamber, like 
those five foolish virgins, or like him who had 
not a wedding-garment ; for he was one of the 
guests — for he too was called. But because, 
after he was called, and had received so great 
honour, he insulted him who called him, hear 
what punishment he suffers, how pitiable and 
lamentable. For, after being admitted to partake 
of that splendid table, he not only is excluded 
from the feast, but he is also cast into outer 
darkness, bound both hand and foot, there to 

sustaia 

(?) John, c. i. v, 13, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 493 

sustain infinite weeping and gnashing of teeth for 
ever. Let us not then, my beloved, think that 
faith is sufficient for our salvation. For if we do 
not display a pure life, but appear in garments 
unworthy of this blessed calling, nothing prevents 
our suffering the same things which that miserable 
man suffered. For it is absurd, that he who is 
God and King, should vouchsafe to conduct to 
that table, men not only mean and beggars, and 
of no estimation, but persons also out of the 
highways ; and that we should be so senseless as 
not to be better for so great honour ; but that after 
we are called, we should continue in the same 
wickedness, sottishly rejecting the unspeakable 
kindness of him who called us. For he did not 
call us to this spiritual and awful participation of 
mysteries, that we should enter into our former 
wickedness ; but that putting off all filthiness, we 
should be clothed in such garments as become 
those who are called to a royal banquet. But if 
we will not do things worthy of that calling, it is 
not to be imputed to him who thus honoured us 9 
but to ourselves : for he does not cast us out 
from this wonderful assemblage of guests, but we 
cast ourselves out. He has performed his part; 
he has made the marriage — he has prepared the 
table — he has sent his servants to call the guests — ■ 
he has received those who came, and has con- 
ferred 



494 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. 

ferred upon them every other honour : but we, 
having insulted him, and those who , were present, 
and the marriage, by filthy garments, that is, by 
impure actions, are at length justly cast out." — - 
Vol. 8. p. 59- 

" When we immerge our heads in water as in 
a tomb, the old man is buried, and is at once en- 
tirely hidden beneath : then when we emerge, 
the new man rises again." — Vol. 8. p. 146. 

" If any one should believe rightly in the 
Father and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, 
and not lead a right life, his faith will not avail 
him for salvation." — Vol. 8. p. 175. 

" 6 By whom we were called unto the fellowship 
of his Son (q) ; that is, by the will of the Father; 
and again, 4 Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, 
for flefti and blood hath not revealed it unto 
thee ( r) \ What he intimates here is of this kind ; 
faith in me is no trifling thing ; but there is need 
of assistance, from above. And this is established 
throughout, that even faith itself requires a soul 
really noble, and drawn by God. But perhaps 
some one will say, If every thing w r hich the Father 
gives comes to you, and to those whom he shall 
draw, and no one can come to you, unless it be 
given him from above, they are free from all 
blame and accusation, to whom the Father does 

not 

(q) 1 Cor. £. 1, v. 9. (r) Matt. c. j6. v. 17. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 495 

not give it. This is a mere fallacy and pretence. 
For we have need of our own free-will. For to 
be taught; and to believe, depend upon our own 
will. But by the expression, ' that which the 
Father giveth me,' he only means, that to be- 
lieve in me is no common thing, not depending 
upon human reasoning, but requiring revelation 
from above, and a mind which piously receives 
that revelation." — Vol. 8. p. 265. 

" God is not accustomed to make men good 
by necessity or force ; nor is his election of those 
who are called, by violence, but by persuasion. 
And that you may understand that the calling is 
not by force, consider how many of those who 
were called have been lost. Whence it is evi- 
dent, that our salvation or destruction depends 
upon our own will.'' — Vol 8. p. 281. 
• " This is the peculiar language of Scripture — ■ 
1 God gave them over to a reprobate mind (s)l 
and i God hath divided unto all nations (t ) ; 
that is, he has permitted, allowed. For he does 
not here introduce him acting, but he shew T s that 
these things happen by the wickedness of others. 
For when we are deserted by God, we are de- 
livered up to the devil ; but when given up to 
the devil, we suffer ten thousand evils. There- 
fore, that he may alarm the hearer, he says, he, 

hardened; 

(s) Rom. c. 1. v. 28. (t) Devtt, c, 4. y. 19. 



496 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. V. 

hardened, he gave up. For that he not only 
does not give us up, but does not desert us ex- 
cept from the want of our own will, learn from 
these expressions ; — • Do not your sins separate 
me and you (u)V And again — ' They that for- 
sake thee shall perish (w)' Hosea says, ' Thou 
hast forgotten the law of thy God, and I will 
forget thee(y):' and he himself in the Gospel 
says — 6 How often would I have gathered thy 
children together, and ye would not (%) ! ' And 
again Isaiah — ' I came, and there was no man ; 
when I called, there was none to answer (a)? 
These things he says to shew that we are our- 
selves the origin of our being deserted, and the 
cause of our own destruction." — Vol. 8. p. 407. 

" Let us then carefully attend to all these 
things in our actions. For if we do not these 
things rightly, we have come into the world in 
vain and to no purpose, or rather to a bad pur- 
pose. For faith is not sufficient to conduct us to 
the kingdom, but it causes in an especial degree 
the condemnation of those who lead a bad life. 
For ' he who knew his Lord's will, and did not 
do it, shall be beaten with many stripes f^.' 
And again, ' If I had not come, and spoken 

unto 

(u) Is. c. 59. v. 2. (x) Ps. 73. v. 26. 

(y) Hos. c. 4. y. 6. (z) Luke, c. 13. v. 34. 

(a) Is,c. 50, v. 2. (b) Luke, c. 12.7,47, 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 497 
unto them, they had not had sin'f c). " — 
Vol 8. p. 502. 

<c Truly we are the cause of evils to ourselves, 
from not being willing to make a little exertion. 
For those who have been willing, have all acted 
rightly ; and they have acted rightly with great 
spirit and ease." — Voh 9. p. 62. 

" This sudden change proves to us our free-will, 
and the liberty of our nature. For if evils were 
natural, this change could not have taken place ; 
for we cannot change those things which are 
fixed by nature and necessity." — Vol. 9. p. 312. 

" He here speaks of two deaths ; that the one 
takes place through Christ at baptism, and that 
the other ought to take place through our own 
future exertions. For that our former sins are 
buried, was his gift ; but that we remain dead to 
sin after baptism, must be the work of our own 
exertion. Although we see that in this, God 
greatly assists us; for baptism has not only power 
to blot out former offences, but it strengthens us 
also against future." — Vol. 9. p. 530. 

" Christ says — ' It must needs be that offences 
come (d) \ not weakening the freedom of choice, 
nor imposing any necessity, or force upon our 
conduct; but foretelling what would certainly 
happen from the wicked disposition of men ; 

which 

(c) JohnjC. 15. v, 22. (d) Matt. e. 18. v. 7. 
K K 



49 8 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, 

which was about to happen, not because of his 
prediction ; but because of the disposition of 
those who would admit of no remedy. For 
those things did not happen because he foretold 
them ; but because they would certainly happen F 
therefore he foretold them." — Vol. i o. p. 242. 

" At our regeneration, the wards of God. 
which the faithful know, spoken by the priest 
form and regenerate him who is baptized, in the 
vessel of water, as in a womb."— Vol. 10. p. 71 u 

4 4 Observe how he teaches them moderation. 
For having born honourable testimony to them, 
that they might not act as men are apt to do, 
he immediately instructs them to ascribe both the 
past and the future to Christ. Flow? Fie does 
not say, Being confident that, as you have begim, 
so also you will finish, but, £ He which hath begun 
a good work in you, will perform it (e)? He has 
not deprived them of right conduct ; for he said, 
4 I rejoice in your fellowship (j)/ because, for- 
sooth, they themselves had acted rightly. Nor 
did he attribute their right conduct to themselves 
only, but principally to God ; for he says, c I am 
confident that he which hath begun a good work in 
you, that is, God, will perform it until the day 
of Jesus Christ.' He does not speak this, — con- 
cerning you only,— but, — I am thus persuaded 

concerning. 

- (e) Ehii c. 1. p 6. (f) PhiL c* r. v. 5. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 499 

concerning those also who will follow you. And 
this is no small commendation, that God worketh 
in any one. For if he be not a respecter of 
persons, as he certainly is not, but, looking to the 
intention, co-operates with us in our right actions, 
it is evident that we are ourselves the cause 
of our obtaining his favour. Wherefore, thus he 
has not deprived them of commendation. For 
if he worked absolutely and indiscriminately in 
them, nothing would prevent his working in 
Greeks, and in all mankind, if he moved us, 
like logs of wood and stone, and did not require 
any exertion on our part. So that when he says, 
God will perform, this is their praise, as having 
obtained the grace of God to co-operate with 
them, so as to enable them to furpass the limits of 
human nature. And the praise is also of another 
kind, that your right conduct is such as not to 
be merely human, but to stand in need of the 
assistance of God." — Vol. n. p. 197 * 

" c Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always 
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now 
much more in my absence, work out your own 
salvation with fear and trembling : For it is God 
which worketh in you, both to will and to do of 
his good pleasure ( g) :' But after he had said, 
* with fear and trembling,' and had excited our 

anxiety, 

(g) Phil, c. 2. v. 12, 13/ 

k & 2 



500 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

anxiety, observe how he allays it, — For what 
does he say ? ' It is God that worketh in you.' 
Fear not that I said, with fear and trembling. 
I did not say it that you should despair, that you 
should think virtue difficult to be attained ;. but 
that you should be attentive, and not remiss. If 
that be the case, God will work all things ; have 
confidence, for it is God that worketh in you; 
If therefore he worketh in us, we ought to supply 
a will, always concentrated, fixed, uninterrupted. 
' For it is God that worketh in you,, both to will 
and to do.' If he himself worketh in us to will, 
why doth he exhort us ? For if he makes us to 
will, it is to no purpose that you say to us, ye 
have obeyed ; for it is not we who obey : it is 
to no purpose that you say — £ with fear and 
trembling' — for the whole is of God. But it was 
not with this view I said, ' For it is he which 
worketh in you, both to will and to do,' but from 
a desire of removing your anxiety; if you be 
willing, then he will work the will in you. Be 
not afraid, and be not ashamed ; he gives you 
both the will, and the work. For when we are 
willing, he increases our will. As, I wish to do 
some good thing: He has worked the good thing 
itself, he has worked the will also through it 
Or he says this from great piety, as when he says 
that our own right actions are graces. As, there- 
for^ 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 50 1 
fore, in calling these graces, he does not deprive 
us" of free-will, bat leaves free-will in us; so when 
he says, that he worketh in us to will, he does 
not take away from us free-will, but shews that 
by acting rightly, we receive a great readiness to 
will."— Vol. 11. p. 257. 

" It rests with ourselves whether God will 
have pity upon us. 'This he has granted to us; 
if we do things worthy of compassion, worthy of 
his kindness, God will have pity upon us." — 
Vol. 11. p. 494- 

u Faith without works is only a form without 
power. True; for as a beautiful and blooming 
body, when it has not strength, is like a picture, 
so is a right faith without works." — Vol. li, 
p. 707, 

" Only be assured of this, that God dispenses 
all things, that he foresees all things ; that we are 
endowed with free-will; that he works some things, 
but permits others ; that he wills no wickedness 
to be done; that all things are not done by his will, 
but by our will also ; that all evil things are done 
by our will; that all good things are done by our 
will and his will ; that nothing is concealed from 
him." — Vol. 11. p. 711. 

In commenting upon these words — ' Christ 
was once offered, to bear the sins of many (hj, 

he 

(h) Heb. c. 9. v. 28. 
K K 3 



502 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

he says, " Why does he say — of many, and not 
* — of all? Because all did not believe. For he 
died indeed for all, to save all, as far as depended 
upon him. For that death was sufficient to 
rescue all from destruction. But he did not bear 
the sins of all, because they were not willing." — i 
Vol. 12. p. 166. 

THEODORET— A. D. 423. 
Sirmondes Edit. 

" God created the whole nature of incorporeal 
things, making it rational and immortal. Free- 
will is peculiar to what is rational. But of these, 
some have preserved a good disposition towards 
the Creator, but others have fallen into wicked- 
ness. This we may also find among men. For 
some indeed are lovers of virtue, but others are 
workers of wickedness. If, therefore, any one 
complains of the creation of wicked persons, he 
deprives the champions of virtue of the prizes of 
victory. For if they had not the desire of virtue 
in the choice of the will, but were unalterably 
fixed by nature, those who successfully struggle 
for piety would be unknown. But since the will 
has the choice of what is good, and of the con* 
trary, some justly obtain the crown of victory, 
and others suffer punishment for their voluntary 
offences." — Vol. 1. p. 31. 

11 " <He 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinmn, 503 

" c He will have all men to be saved, and to 
come unto the knowledge of the truth fij \ but 
since the nature of men has free-will/ those 
who believed, obtained salvation ; but those who 
did not believe^ were the authors of hell-fire to 
themselves/ 5 — Vol. 1. p. 83. 

" God is the author of good, bat not of evil. 
For he paints out what ought to be done, and 
dissuades from the contrary. He does not force 
the minds of men, but leaves them to their free- 
will. And -since he permits things of a contrary 
nature to be done, which he does not prevent, 
although he was able to prevent them, lest what 
was done should be done by force and necessity, 
for it is voluntary virtue which deserves praise, — 
he has called this permission the cause. Similar 
to this is what is said in the Divine Gospels, 
*■ He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their 
hearts (k)' He tried, however, every mode, that 
they might obtain salvation : working miracles, 
healing maimed limbs, feeding people in the 
wilderness, controlling the elements. Therefore 
•he is not the cause of their unbelief. But why 
has the Evangelist produced the testimony of the 
Prophet ? That he might shew that the Lord 
God was ignorant of none of these things, but 
declared them long before ; ( for,' says he, ' ye 

shall 

(t) 1 Tim. c. 2. v. 4. (k) John, c. 12. v. 40'. 
K K 4 



504 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

shall hear, and not understand ; ye shall see, and 
not perceive (I)' In the same manner is this 
passage to be understood, 4 The Lord hath not 
given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, 
and ears to hear, unto this day ( m)! But if God 
did not enable them to see, and to hear, and to 
understand, why does he curse and punish those 
who have sinned not voluntarily? But I think 
it unnecessary to dwell upon this subject. For it 
is evident, even to those who are very dull, that 
he who has afforded such instruction, does not 
take away the sight, but guides, and enlightens, 
and points out the right way." — Vol. 1. p. 184. 

" I do not desire, he says, the death of the 
wicked, but his repentance : for I did not create 
the nature of men that I might punish them, but 
that I might make them partakers of life.'"— r 
Vol. 2. p. 389. 

" Who can sufficiently admire the goodness 
of God ? For being neglected, and treated with 
great ingratitude, he takes care of the ungrateful, 
and makes every provision for them, desiring to 
see their conversion." — Vol. 2. p. 480. 

" The father, Isaac, following the laws of 
nature, and being anxious to give the rights of 
primogeniture to Esau, I directed that Jacob 
should receive them instead of him ; for I hated 

him, 

(I) Is c. 6. v. 9, (m) Deut. c. 29. v. 4. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 505 

him, because of the profligacy of his manners; 
but I loved Jacob, as being an admirer of virtue." 
Vol. 2. p. 932. 

" Nor do we sin for this purpose, that we may 
display the loving-kindness of God. But he 
himself supplies the fountain of benefits, offering 
salvation to all. But men being endowed with 
free-will, some prefer the worship of God, and 
* others take the opposite path, and meet with a 
suitable end." — Vol. 3. p. 28. 

" The grace of the Holy Spirit, which we re- 
ceived by baptism, has inflamed a desire in us 
towards God." — Vol. 3. p. 40: 

" For if it be true, as it is true, that in conse- 
quence of Adam's transgression, the whole race 
received the doom of death, it is manifest that the 
righteousness of the Saviour procures life for all 
men." — Vol. 3. p. 43. 

" Those, whose characters he foreknew, he 
predestinated from the beginning : having pre- 
destinated them, he also called them ; then having 
called them, he justified them by baptism: having 
justified, he glorified them, calling them sons, 
and giving them the grace of the Holy Spirit. 
But let no one say, that foreknowledge is the 
cause of these things. For foreknowledge did 
not make them such; but God, as God, foreknew 
at a distance what would happen. For if I, 

seeing 



5o6 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap, v. 

seeing a high-spirited horse champing his bit, 
and by no means enduring his rider, should say 
that he would go down a precipice when he 
comes near it, and it should happen as I said it 
would; I did not throw the horse down the 
precipice, but I foretold what would happen a 
forming my opinion from the fierceness of the 
horse. The God of the Universe, as God, knows 
all things, at a distance ; he does not, however, 
necessitate one man to practise virtue, and another 
to work wickedness. For if he himself forced 
to either, he could not justly applaud and crown 
the one, and decree punishment against the other. 
But if God be just, as he assuredly is, he en- 
courages to what is good, and dissuades from the 
contrary ; he praises the workers of goodness, 
and punishes those who are voluntarily wicked.' 5 
Vol. 3. p. 68. 

" .All being subject to the curses of the law, 
he submitted to that death which was cursed by 
the law, that he might free all men from the 
curse, and give the promised blessing to all." — 
Vol. 3. p. 274. 

" To have believed, and to have had a splen- 
did conflict, he calls the gifts of God ; not taking 
away free-will, but teaching that the will of itself 
without grace, can do no good thing rightly, 
For there is need of both, namely, our owa 

willingness. 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism, 507 
willingness, and divine assistance. For neither 
the grace of the Spirit is sufficient for those who 
have not willingness; nor, on the other hand, 
can willingness, without this grace, collect th@ 
riches of virtue." — Vol. 3. p. 328. 

" Not that he forces those who are unwilling, 
but that finding a readiness, he increases it by 
his grace. He called the good will of God, his 
good pleasure ( n ). He wills that all men should 
be saved, and come to the knowledge of the 
truth." — Vol. 3. p. 332. 

" He suffered for all; for whatever things 
have a created nature, stood in need of this 
remedy." — Vol. 3. p. 404. 

tc All men being under the power of death, 
he not being subject to death, as God, for he 
has an immortal nature, nor as man, for he had 
not committed sin, which causes death, gave 
himself as it were a ransom, and freed all men 
from its slavery." — Vol. 3. p. 471. 

" We might find many other things, by which 
we might easily learn that the devil, being created 
good, voluntarily fell into wickedness. But even 
the punishment denounced against him is suffi- 
cient to shew, that his wickedness w r as voluntary; 
for it does not belong to a just God to punish 
him w ho is necessarily wicked." — Vol. 4. p. 271. 

" Baptism 

(n) Phil. c. 2. v. 13. 



50S Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

" Baptism not only gives the remission of old 
sins, but it also conveys the hope of good pro- 
mises, and makes us share in the death and 
resurrection of our Lord, and partake in the gift 
of the Spirit." — Vol. 4. p. 292. 

te Sed tandem allegandi veteres finis esto, 
quando, non dico, si omnia omnium indicare 
velimus (quod ne possemus quidem) sed vel sola 
quae possumus, nullus sit futurus finis. Et eo 
minus labore istdc opus, quando maximus Cal- 
vinus hanc fuisse antiquitatis sententiam non 
obscure agnoscit. Lib. 2. Inst. Christ, c. 3. s. 2, 
Ubi sic scribit ; 1 Ac voluntatem movet Deus, non 
qualiter multis seculis traditum est ut nostras sit 
electionis, motioni Dei obtemperare aut refragari.' 
Nam ne de Scholasticis id capiendum putes, 
mox ostendit, se etiam de lis seculis loqui, quibus 
praecipue per orbem universum floruit Religio 
Christiana. Subjungit enim, — c Illud ergo a 
Chrysostomo toties repetitum, repudiari necesse 
est, Quern trail it, volentem trahit.' Chrysosto- 
mura unum nominat: sed idem etiam ab aliis 
Patribus doceri doctissimum virum minime fugit, 
ut satis liquet ex iis quae et eo ipso, et praece- 
dente capite dixerat.' , — Voss. Hist. Pel. p. 751. 
Ed. J 655- 

u Veteris ecclesiae magistri non solum fate- 

bantur 



chap, v.] opposed to the Tenets of Calvinism. 50*9 

bantur Christi Xvrpov adeo esse pretiosum, ut 
sufficiens esse potuerit pro totius mimdi peccatis, 
si Christo illod pro omnibus visum fuisset expen- 
dere : sed praeterea concedebant, Christum revera 
pro omnibus et singulis satisfecisse, ideoque net 
esse quenquam non reconciiiabilem Deo. Quod 
vero non omnes Deo reconcilientur, vel captivi- 
tate liberenter, hoc esse aiebant a vitio hominis, 
qui carcere exire, et Christum sequi, ac Deo 
reconciliari non vult." — lb. p. 682. 

Beza also acknowledges the Anti-Calvinism of 
the Fathers prior to Augustine — " Est etiam hie 
locus, (Rom. ix. 39), diligenter observandus ad- 
versus eos qui hdei vel operum praevisionem 
faciunt electionis causam ; in quem errorem sane 
turpissimum Origenes veteres plerosque, turn 
Grascos turn Latinos adegit ; donee tandem Do- 
minus Augustinum per Pelagianos ad hunc agnos- 
cendum et corrigendum errorem excitaret." Beza 
quoted Voss. p. 541. That the opinion, here 
attributed to Origen, was held by the Fathers 
prior to him, is evident from the Quotations m 
the former part of this Chapter; and it was also 
held by Augustine himself in the early part of his 
life. 

" Sic interposito — says Calvin himself — prae- 
scientiae velo, electionem non modo obscurant, 
sed origenem aliunde habere flngunt. Neqae 

vero 



510 Quotations from the Fathers, [chap. v. 

vero ha?c vulgo recepta opinio, solius vulgi est 
Habuit enim omnibus seculis magnos authores. 
Quod ingenue fateor, ne quis causae nostra 
magnopere obfuturum confidat, si eorum nomina 
contra opponantur." — Calv. Inst. lib. 3. c. 23. 

" Pcene omnium" — says Prosper, a friend and 
supporter of Augustine, — " parem inveniri, et 
unam sententiam, qua propositam et proedestina- 
tionem Dei secundum praescientiam receperunt ; 
ut ab hoc Deus alios vasa honoris, alios vasa 
contumelise fecerit : quia finem unius cujusque 
prteviderit, et sub ipso gratios adjutorio, in qua 
futurus esset voluntate & actione, prrescierit." — 
Quoted by Grot, de Dogm. Pel, p. 362. 



[ 5ii ] 



CHAPTER THE SIXTH, 



QUOTATIONS 

tmil THE ANTIENT FATHERS OF THE CHRIS HAN 
CHURCH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVING THAT THE 
EARLIEST HERETICS MAINTAINED OPINIONS GREATLY 
RESEMBLING THE PECULIAR TENETS OF CALVINISM. 



THE corruption of an important doctrine of 
St. Paul during his lifetime, has been noticed 
in a preceding part of this Work ; and it is well 
known by those, who have any acquaintance 
with ecclesiastical history, that many other doc- 
trines of the Gospel were corrupted in the apos- 
tolic age, and in the age immediately succeeding. 
The best and most authentic account of the early 
corruptions of Christianity is contained in the 
works of the antient Fathers/o^; and in examin- 
ing these writers, I find that some of the first 
Heretics maintained opinions in a high degree 
resembling what are now called Calvinistic doc- 
trines. To establish the truth of this position, I 
shall quote passages from Irenaeus, Clement of 
Alexandria, and Tertullian, who lived in the 

second 

(o) The best modern work upon this subject is, 
Thomse Ittigii De, Haeresiarchis Aevi Apostolici, 2c 
Apostolico proxirni, Dissertatio, Lipsiae, 1690, 



512 Opinions of earliest Heretics, [chap, VI* 

second century ; from Origen, who lived in the 

third century ; from Cyril of Jerusalem, Epipha- 

nius, Gregory of Nazianzum, and Jerome, who 

lived in the fourth century ; and from Theodoret, , 

who lived in the fifth century. I shall only 

further observe, that Saturninus, Basilides, Valen- 

tinus, and Marcion, mentioned in the following 

quotations, all lived in the early part of the 

second century (p). 

\ ^ 

IRENJEUS. 

" There being, therefore, three substances, 
they (the Valentinians) assert, that the material, 
(which they also call left-handed) necessarily 
perishes, as being incapable of receiving any 
breath of incorruption ; that the animal, (which 
they also call right-handed) as being in the middle 
between the spiritual and the material, goes the 
way to which it inclines ; that the spiritual is sent 
forth, that it may, be formed here in conjunction 
with the animal, being instructed together with it. 
And this, they say, is the salt and the light of 
the world. For the animal substance has need of 
sensible instructions. For which reason they say 

that 

(p ) Saturninus was the earliest of these heretics. The 
three last are mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, 
p. 898. as first propagating their opinions in the time 
of the Emperor Adrian, who reigned from 117 to 139 
of the Christian <era. 



fcHAP, vi.] resembling Tenets of Calvinism. 5 1 3 
that the world was formed, and that the Saviour 
came to this animal substance, since it is endowed 
with free-will, that he might save it. (They 
further assert) that matter is incapable of salva- 
tion : That the consummation will be when all 
the spiritual shall have been formed, and per* 
fected by knowledge, that is, spiritual men, who 
have a perfect knowledge concerning God .... 
For animal men are instructed in animal things, 
being strengthened by works and bare faith, and 
not having perfect knowledge. We of the Church, 
they say, are these persons. Wherefore they de- 
clare, that we have need of good conduct; for 
otherwise, it is impossible that we should be 
saved. But they affirm, that they themselves 
shall be entirely and completely saved, not by 
their own conduct, but because they are spiritual 
by nature. For as it is impossible that the mate- 
rial should partake of salvation (for they say it is 
not capable of it), so again it is impossible that 
the spiritual, meaning themselves, should be sub- 
ject to corruption, whatever conduct they pursue. 
For as gold placed in mud, does not lose its ex- 
cellence, but preserves its own nature, the mud 
not being able in any respect to injure the gold ; 
so they say that they themselves, whatever mate- 
rial actions they do ; are not at all hurt, nor do 
L l they 



514 Opinions of earliest Heretics, [chap, vi, 
they lose the spiritual substance. Wherefore,, 
those of them who are the most perfect, do with- 
out fear all things which are forbidden (q ) , of 
which the Scriptures affirm, that they who dd 
such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of 
God." .... After enumerating a great variety 
of dreadful crimes, of which these men were 
guilty, he adds — " And doing many other abo- 
minable and ungodly things, they inveigh against 
us, who, from the fear of God, are cautious not 
to sin even in thought or word, as idiots and 
fools: but they extol themselves, calling them- 
selves perfect, and the elect seed. For they say 
that we receive grace for use, and that therefore 
it will be taken away from us ; but that they 
themselves have grace as their own possession, 
derived from above by an union which cannot be 
described or expressed, and that therefore an 
addition will be made to them."- — p. 28. 

" Subdividing souls themselves, they say that 
some are by nature good, and some by nature 
bad,"— p. 35. 

He 

(q) Sine omni reverential et pudore, stupris se, inces- 
tui, adulteriisj 8e faedissiaiis quibusque libidinibus (Va- 
lentiniani) dediderunt^ quia licentiam vitse, et turpes 
voluptates, quibus abundant, non excutere crediderunt 
gratiam Dei et salutem. 'Quapropter et libcre eos 
omnia agere consuevisse, nullum in nulio timorenv 
habentes. Cent. Magd. p. 88. Cent. 2. 



chap, vi.] resembling Tenets of Cahinsim. 515 

He says, that one of the doctrines of Simon 
Magus was, " that those who trust in him and 
his Helena ( rj, should have no further care, and 
that they are free to do what they like ; for that 
men are saved according to his grace, but not 
according to just works."— p. 99. 

* He (Saturninus) first asserted, that there 
are two sorts of men formed by the angels (s)> 
the one good, the other bad. And, because 
demons assist the worst men, that the Saviour 
came to destroy bad men and demons, but to 
save good men." — p. 101. 

" They (the Valentinians) say, that some men 
are good by nature, and some bad." — p. 124. 

(r) Hie (Simon) a mukis quasi Deus glerificatus est, 
ct docuit semet ipsurn esse, qui inter Juctaos quidem 
quasi Filius apparuerit, in Samaria autem quasi Pater de- 
scenderit, in reliquis vero gentibus quasi Spiritus Sanctus 
adventaverit. Esse autem se subjimissimam *virtu em. 
hoc est, eum qui sit super omnia, Pater, et sustinere 

vocari se quodcunque eum vocant homines Hie 

Helenam quandam ipse a Tyro civkaie Phoenices quaest- 
uariam cum redemisset sectim circumducebat, dicens 
hanc esse primam mentis ejus conceptionem, matrem 
oomium, per quam initio mente concepit angelos facere 
ct archangelos. p. 99. 

(s) Tertullian also says, that Saturninus maintained 
that man was created by Angels, p. 280. De Anima, 

cap. 23. Epiphanius says the same thing. Vol. I, 

p. 62. Haeres. 23. 



L L 3 



5 1 6 Opinions of earliest Heretics, [chap, vi- 



CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 

" The followers of Basilides consider faith as 
natural ; wherefore they also attribute it to elec : 
tion, as discovering doctrines by intellectual com- 
prehension, without instruction. But the Valen- 
tinians, allowing us simple people a share of faith, 
maintain that knowledge is in themselves, who 
are saved by nature, according to the abundance 
of the excellent seed ; asserting, that knowledge 
is far more distinguished from faith, than what is 
spiritual is from what is natural. The followers 
of Basilides moreover say, that faith and election 
are peculiar in every respect [*»&' zxocrov harnpa.] ; 
and again, that the worldly faith of every nature 
follows as a consequence of supermundane elec* 
tion ; and that the gift of faith corresponds with 
the hope of every one. Faith, therefore, is not 
the effect of a right choice, if it be the privilege 
of nature; nor will the unbeliever obtain a just 
recompence, not being himself the cause of his 
unbelief; nor is the believer the cause of his 
belief ; but all the peculiarity and difference of 
belief and unbelief, would be the object neither 
of praise nor of dispraise, in the opinion of those 
who judge rightly, since it has an antecedent 
physical necessity, derived from Him who is 
Almighty. But if we be drawn as it were with 

ropes,. 



chap, vi.] resembling Tenets of Calvinism. 517 

ropes, like inanimate tilings, by physical energies, 
there is no need of what is voluntary and involun- 
tary, and of antecedent desire. And I do not 
understand what that creature is, whose faculty of 
desiring, being put in motion by an external cause, 
is consigned to necessity. But where would be 
the conversion of him who was formerly an un- 
believer, through which (conversion) is the re- 
mission of sins? So that baptism is no longer 
consistent with reason ; nor the blessed Seal, nor 
the Son, nor the Father ; but their God, as it 
appears to me, is proved to be a distribution of 
natures, which has not a voluntary faith as the 
foundation of salvation. But let us, who have 
learnt from the Scriptures, that an absolute power 
of choosing and avoiding is given to men bv the 
Lord, rest on faith with immovable judgement, 
displaying a zealous spirit, because we have 
chosen life, and believed in God, through its 
voice : and he who has believed in the word, 
knows that the thing is true ; for the word j| 
truth." — p. 433. 

u I have quoted these words in reproof of the 
followers of Ba,silides, who lead incorrect lives, 
as persons who are authorized to sin, because of 
their perfection ; or who will certainly be saved by 
nature, even though they sin now, because of an 
flection founded in nature." — p. 510.^ 

l l 3 (i He 



51 8 Opinions of earliest Heretics, [chap. vi. 

" He (Valentinus) too, like Basilides, supposes 
a race (ysuog) which is saved by nature." — p. 603. 
" If any one knows God by nature, which is the 

opinion of Basilides He (Basilides) says, 

that faith is not the rational consent of a mind 
endowed with free-will. The precepts both of 
the Old and New Testament are superfluous, 
if any one be saved by nature, as Valentinus 
maintains ; and if any one be faithful and elect 
by nature, as Basilides thinks/' — p. 645. 

" Of heresies, some are called from the names 
of their founders, as from Valentinus, and Mar- 
cion, and Basilides." p. 899. — it is evident from 
this passage, that the peculiar opinions of V alen- 
tinus, Marcion, and Basilides, were considered as 
heretical by the church at the time they were first 
propagated, as Clement of Alexandria lived soon 
after them. 

" The doctrine of Valentinus is, There are 
many material men, but not many animal men ; 
and very few spiritual. That, therefore, which is 
spiritual, is saved by nature. That which is 
animal, being endowed with free-will, has a fitness 
for faith and incorruption, and also for unbelief 
and corruption, according to its own choice ; but 
that which is material, perishes by nature ( t — 
p. 983. 

(t) This passage is taken from the Excerpta ex 
Tlieodoti Scriptis. 



^hap, vi. ] resembling Tends of Calvinism, 5 1 9 

TERTULLIAN. 

" I will now, in conclusion, collect together 
what they (the Valentinians) maintain concerning 
the disposal of the whole human race. Having 
professed an original threefold nature, united, 
however, in Adam, they then divide it according 
to the peculiar properties of each kind, taking 
occasion for this distinction, (which is divided 
into three parts by moral differences also) from 
the posterity of Adam himself. They make use 
of Cain, Abel, and Seth, the fountains, as it were, 
of the human race, as arguments for so many 
natures and essences. The material, which is 
not designed for salvation, they refer to Cain ; 
the animal, which is left to an intermediate hope, 
they refer to Abel ; the spiritual, which is pre- 
ordained to certain salvation, they refer to Seth. 
Thus they also distinguish souls themselves, by 
two properties, good and bad. They assert, that 
the material kind, that is, bad souls, never admit 
of salvation. For they have pronounced their 
nature to be incapable of change and reforma- 
tion." — p. 260. 

ORIGEN. 

Or 10 en speaks of Heretics, who thought 
that those souls, which they called spiritual na- 
tures, were incapable of change (inconvertibiles 

jet contrarii incapaces). — Vol. I. p. 72. 

l l 4 " Those 



520 Opinions of earliest Heretics, [chap. m. 

" Those who, coming from the schools of 
Marcion, and Valentinus, and Basilides, have 
been taught that there are different natures of 
souls." — Vol, i. p. 98. 

After quoting some passages of Scripture, he 
says, " Certain Heretics pervert these passages, 
almost destroying free-will, by maintaining that 
there are abandoned natures, incapable of salva- 
tion, and that there are other natures which are 
saved, and which- cannot possibly perish."— 
Vol. u p. 115. 

In his fifth book against Celsus, in answering 
the objectiop of Celsus, arising from the number 
of sects into which Christianity was then divided, 
he says, " Let it be supposed that there is a third 
set of persons, who call some men animal, and 
others spiritual ; I suppose that he is speaking of 
the Valentinians. But what is that to us of the 
Church, who condemn those who maintain, that 
there are some persons formed by nature to be 
saved, and ethers formed by nature to perish." 
Vol. 1. p. 624. ( . 

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM. N 

" The soul is immortal, and all the souls of 
men and women are alike ; for the bodily limbs 
only vary o There is not an order of souls which 
sin by nature ; and an order of souls which act 
justly by nature ; but both according to free-will,; 

souls. 



chap, vx] resembling Tenets of Calvinism. 521 

souls being of a like form and substance in all 
persons. I know that I am using many words, 
and that I have already occupied much time ; but 
what is more valuable than salvation ? Will you 
not take some trouble in providing against Here- 
tics ? Do you not wish to know the deviation from 
the road, that you may not fall down a precipice 
•without being aware of it ?" — p. 62. 

" We will not bear with those who put a wrong 
interpretation upon this passage, \ In this the 
children of God are manifest, and the children of 
the devil (u); as if some men were saved, and 
others perish by nature*; for we come into this holy 
adoption, not by necessity, but from our own free- 
will.'— p. 118. 

EPIPHANIUS. 

f- Tuey (the Valentinians) say, that there are 
three orders of men, spiritual, animal, carnal. 
They assert, that they themselves belong to the 
spiritual order, as do the Gnostics, and that they 
stand in need of nq labour, only knowledge, and 
their mysterious terms ; that every one of them 
may do any thing without fear or care : for they 
say, that their order, being spiritual, will be 
entirely saved. But that the other order of men 
in the world, which they call animal, cannot be 
saved of itself, unless it should save itself by 

labour 

(u) 1 John, c. 3. v. io. 



522 Opiniom of earliest Heretics, [chap. vi. 
labour and just conduct. But they say, that the 
material (carnal) order of men in the world, can 
neither acquire knowledge, nor receive it, even 
if any person of that order should wish for it ; 
but that they perish, soul and body together.'* 
Vol i. p. 172. 

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM. 

u ' All, he says, do not receive the word, but 
those to whom it is given.' When you hear the 
expression 4 to whom it is given/ do not adopt 
any heretical notion ; do not fancy that there arc 
different natures, earthly, spiritual, and middle 
natures. For certain persons are so ill disposed, 
as to imagine that some are of a nature which 
must absolutely perish, others of a nature which 
must be saved; and that a third sort are so 
circumstanced, according as their will may lead 
them to vice or to virtue." — Vol. i. p. 504. 

JEROME. 

u ' When it pleased God, who separated me 
from my mother's womb, and called me by his 
grace, to reveal his son in me, that I might preach 
him among the heathen (x)\ not only in this 
passage, but in his epistle to the Romans, Paul 
writes, that he was separated unto the Gospel of 
Godfj/J: and Jeremiah is said to have been 

known 

(x) Gal. c. 1. v. 15, 16. (y) Rom. c. 1. v. 1. 



chap, vij resembling Tenets of Calvinism. 523 
known and sanctified by God before he was 
formed in the belly, and conceived in his mothers 
womb (z) : and of the person of a just man, or as 
some think, of our Saviour, it is .said, ' I have 
been left with thee ever since I was born ; thou 
art my God even from my mothers womb (a)? 
On the contrary, David says of sinners, 4 Behold, 
I was shapen in wickedness, and in sin hath my 
mother conceived me (b): and in another place, 
' The ungodly are fro ward even from their mother s 
womb (c) : and in both respects, before the chil- 
dren were born, God loved Jacob, and hated 
Esau. The Heretics, who pretend that there are 
different natures; namely, a spiritual and an 
animal, and that the one is saved, and the other 
perishes, and that there is a third between these 
two, maintain from these passages, that no one 
would be understood to be just before he did 
some good, or would be hated as a sinner before 
some crime was committed, unless there was a 
different nature of those who perish, and of those 
who are to be saved : to which it may be simply 
replied, that this happens from the prescience of 
God, that he loves the person before he is born, 
who he knows will be just; and the person who 
he kno ws will be a sinner, he hates before he com- 
mits sin." — Vol. 4. p. 232. 



< We 



(z) Jerem. c. 1. v. 5, 
(b) P S . 51. v. 5. 



(a) Ps. 22. v. 10. 
(c) Ps. 58. v. 3 . 



524 Opinions of earliest Heretics, [chap. vi. 

k < • We who are Jews by nature, and not sin- 
ners of the Gentiles The Heretics shelter 
themselves under this passage, w^ho ? feigning certain 
ridiculous and trifling things, assert, that neither 
the spiritual nature can sin, nor the earthly 
nature do any thing justly. W e would ask these 
persons, why the branches were broken from the 
good olive tree, and why the wild olive branches 
were engrafted upon the root of the good olive 
tree, if nothing can fall from good, or rise from 
bad : or, how Paul first persecuted the Church, if 
he were of. a spiritual nature ; or afterwards 
became an Apostle, if hp were of an earthly 
nature/' — Vol. 4. part 1. p. 245. 

" ' Now therefore ye are no more strangers 
and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of Godfe):' This passage 
particularly makes against those who endeavour 
to introduce different natures; for, how were 
strangers made fellow-citizens with the saints, and 
how were the household of God formerly foreigners 
to the conversation of Israel, if nature cannot be 
changed either for the better, or the worse?'' 
Vol. 4. part 1. p. 346. 

: " ' Ye were sometime darkness, but now are 
ye light in the Lord (f) : But if it be possible that 

darkness 

(d) Gal, c, 2. v. 15. (e) Eph. c. 2. v. 19. 
(f) Eph, c. 5. v. 80 



«hap. vi.] resembling Tenets of Calvinism, 525 

darkness should be turned into light, there is not ? 
as some Heretics say, a nature which perishes,, 
and which does not admit of salvation." — Yol. 4, 
part 1. p. 383. 

" Manichasus says, that his Elect are free from 
all sin, and that they could not sin if they would." 
Vol. 4. part 2. p. 476. 

" You will cry out, and say, that we follow the 
doctrine of the Manichaeans, and of those who 
wage war against the Church upon the subject of 
different natures, asserting, that there is a bad 
nature, which cannot he changed by any means." 
Vol. 4. part 2. p. 480. 

" Let us .briefly reply to those slanderers, who 
reproach us by saying, that it belongs to the 
Manichaeans to condemn, the nature of man, and 
to take away free-will, and to deny the assistance 
of God."— Vol. 4. part 2. p. 485. 

THEOBORET. 

" They (the Valentinians) assert, that they 
themselves are saved by knowledge alone; but 
that we are saved by faith and good conduct ; 
that they themselves do not stand in 'need of 
works, knowledge being sufficient for salvation. 
On which account, they who are most perfect 
among them, do without fear, whatever is forbid- 
den by the divine laws. "—Vol 4- p. 200, 

« He 



526 Opinions of earliest Heretics, &c. [chap. vi. 

" He (Simon Magus) ordered those who 
believed in him, not to attend to them (the Pro- 
phets) nor to fear the threats of the law, but to 
do, as free persons, whatever they wished • for 
that they would obtain salvation, not by good 
works, but by grace. On which account his 
followers were guilty of every licentiousness." 
Vol. 4. p. 192. 

" He (Saturnilus) says, that there are two 
distinctions of men, and that some are good, and 
some bad ; and that this difference is derived 
from nature. Wicked demons co-operating with 
wicked men ; the Saviour, he says, came to assist 
good men." — Vol. 4. p. 1 94. 



[ 5*7 I 



CHAPTER THE SEVENTH, 



QUOTATIONS 
FROM THE WORKS OF CALVIN. 

Calvini Inst. Christ. Rel. - - - Genevce. 1617. 

- - - Epistolae ------ Ge?iet(z. 1617. 

- - - Comment, in Apost. Epht. - - - 155& 

- - - Opuscula - -- -- -- -- 1612. 

" JN this entire state (namely, before the Fall) 
man had the power, of free-will, by which, 
if he had chosen, he might have obtained eternal 
life. Here a question is unseasonably introduced^ 
concerning the secret predestination of God ; be- 
cause the point is not what might or might not 
have happened, but of what kind the nature of 
man was. Adam, therefore, might have stood if 
he had chosen, since he did not fall except by his 
own will- But because his will might have been 
inclined either way, and constancy to persevere 
was not given to him, therefore he fell so easily. 
There was, however, a free choice of good and 
evil ; and not only that, but the greatest rectitude 
in the mind and will, and all the organic parts 
rightly formed for obedience, till, by destroying 
himself, he corrupted his good qualities. Hence 
philosophers were so enveloped in darkness, 
because they sought the building in the ruin, and 

the 



52 S Quotations from Calvin, [chap, vir* 
the fit joints in the dissolution; [in dissipatione 
aptas juncturas.] They maintained this principle, 
that man would not be a rational animal, if he 
had not the free choice of good and evil. They 
also thought that the distinction between virtue 
and vice was taken away, if a man did not direct 
his life by his own counsel. This would have 
been so far well, if there had been no change in 
man, of which, while they were ignorant, it is 
no wonder if they confounded heaven with earth* 
But those, who, professing themselves disciples 
of Christ, still seek for free-will in man, who is 
lost and sunk in spiritual destruction, by dividing 
between the maxims of philosophers and the 
heavenly doctrine, are plainly guilty of folly, so 
that they reach neither heaven nor earth."- — Inst, 
lib. i. cap. 15. sect. 8. 

" Let this be the sum ; since the will of God 
is said to be the cause of all things, that his pro- 
vidence is appointed to be the ruler in all the 
counsels and works of men ; so that it not only 
exerts its power in the elect, who are governed by 
the Holy Spirit, but also compels the compliance 
of the reprobate." — Inst. lib. 1. cap. 18. sect. 2. 

" This course must be pursued, that man, 
being assured that nothing good is left within his 
power, and being every where surrounded by a 
most wretched necessity, should nevertheless be 

instructed 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 529 . 

instructed to good, of which he is destitute ; to 
aspire to liberty, of which he is deprived; and 
should be roused from indolence with more 
earnestness than if he were found furnished with 
the highest degree of virtue." — Inst. lib. 2. 
cap. 2. sect. 1. 

" It is clear, for a plain and obvious reason, 
that the beginning of good is certainly from no 
other quarter but from God alone. For neither 
will the will be found inclined to good, except in 
the elect. But the cause of election is to be 
sought extraneously from men. Whence it is 
established, that man has a right will, not from 
himself, but that it is derived from the same good 
pleasure by which we were elected before the 
creation of the world. Another reason, not 
unlike this, is added : for since the beginning of 
willing and acting well is from faith, it must be 
considered from whence faith itself is. But 
since all Scripture proclaims that faith is the 
gratuitous gift of God, it follows that it is of mere 
grace, when we, who are naturally with our 
whole mind inclined to evil, begin to think well." — - 
Inst. lib. 2. cap. 3. sect. 8. 

" The first part of a good work is the will ; 
the second, a strong effort in executing ; God is 
the author of both ........ In this manner, 

therefore, the Lord both begins and perfects a 
M m good 



530 Quotations from Calvin. [chap, rif, 

good work in us : so that it is his that the H'81 
conceives a love of what is right ; that it inclines 
to the pursuit of it ; that it is excited and moved 
to the endeavour of pursuing it: then that the 
choice, the pursuit, the endeavour do not weary, 
but proceed even to the effect ; lastly, tbM man 
constantly goes on in those things, and perseveres 
even unto the end. And he moves the will, not, 
as it was for many ages taught and believed, so 
that it is afterwards in our own choice to obey or 
resist the motion, but by effectually influencing 
it .... . . This, truly, is the prerogative of the 

elect, that being regenerated by the Spirit of God, 
they are acted upon and governed by his guidance. 
Wherefore Augustine, with reason, as well derides 
those who arrogate to themselves any part of 
willing, as he censures those who think that the 
testimony of gratuitous election, which is special, 
is given promiscuously to all. Nature, says 
he, is common to ail, not grace." — Inst. lib. 2. 
cap. 3. sect. 9 & 10. 

" Concerning perseverance, it would not have 
been more doubtful but that it was to be esteemed 
the gratuitous gift of God, if a very bad error had 
not prevailed, that it is dispensed according to the 
merit of men, as every one shall shew himself 
not ungrateful for the first grace. But, because 
it arose from hence, that they thought it was in 

our 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 531 
our own power to reject or accept the offered 
grace of God, this opinion being exploded, that 
error falls of its own accord. Although here they 
are guilty of a double error ; for, besides that they 
teach, that our gratitude oil account of the first 
grace, and our legitimate use of it, are rewarded 
by subsequent things, they also add that grace does 
not now work alone in us, but that it only co- 
operates with us."— Inst. lib. 2. cap. 3. sect. 1 1. 

" That man is so held captive by the yoke of 
sin, that he is not able by his wishes to aspire to 
that which is good, or by his ow T n nature to pursue 
it, has been, if I be not mistaken, sufficiently 
proved. Besides, the distinction between com- 
pulsion and necessity was laid down; from whence 
it might appear, that he, while he sins necessarily* 
does not however sin the less voluntarily." — Inst, 
lib. 2. cap. 4. sect. 1. 

" Even Augustine is sometimes not free from 
that superstition ; as where he says 3 that the 
hardening and blinding do not refer to the 
operation, but to the prescience, of God." — Inst, 
lib. 2. cap. 4. sect 3. 

" They use also the authority of the Apostle* 
because he says, c It is not of him that willeth, 
nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth 
^nercy (gj ; from which they infer, that there is 

something; 

(g) Rom. c. 9. v. 16. 



532 Quotations from Cahln, [chap. vii« 

something in the will and endeavour, which, 
although weak in itself, being assisted by the 
mercy of God, has a prosperous success. But if 
they would soberly weigh what point is there 
treated by Paul, they would not so inconsiderately 
abuse that sentence. I know that they may quote 
Origen arid Jerome in support of their expo- 
sition ; and I, in my turn, could oppose Augustine 
to them ( h J : but what they thought, does not 
concern us, if Paul's meaning be certain. He 
there teaches, that salvation is prepared for them 
whom the Lord may think worthy of his mercy ; 
that ruin and destruction await those whom he 
has not elected. He had pointed out the lot of 
the reprobate, under the example of Pharaoh ; he 
had also confirmed the certainty of gratuitous 
election, by the testimony of Moses, ' I will have 
mercy on whom I will have mercy.' He con- 
cludes, that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
But it it be understood in this manner, that the 
will and endeavour are not sufficient, because 
they are unequal to so great a task, Paul's ex- 
pression 

(h) It appears from this passage, that Calvin was 
aware that, of all the antients, Augustine was the only 
one who was favourable to his opinions. And, in the 
short quotation immediately preceding, he acknowledges* 
the inconsistency even of Augustine. Of Augustine's 
inconsistency, I shall have occasion to speak hereafter. 



.chap, vii.] Quotations from Cqtoin. 533 

pression would not be suitable. Away then with 
these refinements ; It is not of him that wiileth, 
nor of him that runneth ; therefore there is some 
will, there is some running. For the meaning of 
Paul is more simple. It is not the will, it is not 
the running, which procure us the way to sal- 
vation ; here is only the mercy of the Lord. For 
in this place he speaks not otherwise than he does 
to Titus, where he writes, * that the kindness and 
love of God toward man appeared, not by works 
of righteousness which we have done, but accord- 
ing to his immense mercy fi'J. 9 Not even those 
very persons who argue that Paul intimated that 
there is some will, and some running, because he 
said, that it is not of him that wiileth, nor of him 
that runneth, would allow me to reason in the 
same manner, that we have done some good 
works, because Paul says, that we have not ob- 
tained the kindness of God by the works which 
we have done. But if they see a fault in this 
reasoning, let them open their eyes, and they will 
see that there is the same fallacy in their own 
reasoning. That reason is also firm on which 
Augustine rests, — £ If it were therefore said, that it 
is not of him that wiileth, nor of him that runneth, 
because neither the will nor the running is suf- 
ficient ; on the contrary side it might be retorted, 

that 

(i) Tit. c. 3. v. 4, 5, 

M M 3 



534 Quotations from Cakin. [chap. vii. 
that it is not of the mercy of God, and by this 
alone, that he did those things.' Since this second 
thing is absurd, Augustine, with reason, concludes, 
that this was therefore said, because there is no 
good will of man, unless it be prepared by the 
Lord : not but that we ought to will and run ; 
but because God causes both in us. No less 
ignorantly is that expression of Paul twisted by 
some persons, * We are labourers together with 
God (It) which there is no doubt is restricted to 
ministers only : but that they are called fellow- 
labourers, not as bringing any thing from them^ 
selves, but because God makes use of their work, 
after he has rendered them fit, and furnished 
them with necessary endowments." — Inst. lib. 2. 
cap. 5. sect. 17. 

" I know that it appears hard to some, that 
faith should be attributed to, the reprobate, since 
Paul asserts, that it is the fruit of election ; which 
difficulty, however, is easily solved : because 
although none are illuminated to faith, or truly 
feel the efficacy of the Gospel, except those who 
are pre-ordained to salvation, yet experience 
shews, that the reprobate are sometimes affected 
almost with the same feelings as the elect ; so that, 
even in their own judgement, they in no respect 
differ from the elect. Wherefore it is not absurd, 

that 

(k) 1 Cor. c. 3. v. 9, 



©map. vir.] Quotations from Calvin. 535 

that the taste of celestial gifts is ascribed to them 
by the Apostle and a temporary faith by Christ : 
not that they solidly perceive the force of spiritual 
grace, and the sure light of faith, but because the 
Lord, that he may render them more convicted 
and inexcusable, insinuates himself into their 
minds, as far as his goodness can be tasted without 
the spirit of adoption. If any one should object, 
that nothing further remains to the faithful, by 
which they may certainly estimate their adoption, 
I answer, although there is a great similitude and 
affinity between the elect of God, and those who 
are gifted with a frail faith for a time, that, never- 
theless, that confidence, which Paul celebrates, 
that they cry out with assurance (pleno ore) Abba, 
Father, flourishes in the elect only. Therefore, as 
God regenerates for ever the elect alone with 
incorruptible seed, that the seed of life planted in 
their hearts may never perish; so he solidly seals in 
them the grace of his adoption, that it may be firm 
and ratified. But this by no means prevents that 
inferior operation of the Spirit from having its 
course, even in the reprobate. In the mean time, 
the faithful are taught to search themselves 
anxiously and humbly, lest the security of the 
flesh creep upon them, instead of the certainty of 
faith. Besides, the reprobate never perceive, 
except a confused feeling of grace ; so that they 
M m 4 lay 



536 Quotations from Calvin, [chap. rn. 

lay hold of the shadow rather than the solid body, 
because the Spirit properly seals the remission of 
sins in the elect alone, that they may apply it, by 
a special faith, to their own use. The reprobate, 
however, are with reason said to believe that 
God is propitious to them, because they receive 
the gift of reconciliation, although confusedly and 
not with sufficient distinctness : not that they are 
partakers either of the same faith or regeneration 
as the sons of God ; but because they seem to 
have a common beginning of faith w ith them, 
under the covering of hypocrisy. Nor do I deny, 
that God so far illuminates their minds, that they 
acknowledge his grace : but he so distinguishes 
that feeling from the peculiar testimony w hich he 
gives to his elect, that they do not come to a solid 
effect and enjoyment. For he does not therefore 
shew himself propitious to them, because he 
receives them into his protection, being truly 
saved from death ; but he only manifests to them 
present mercy. But he thinks the elect alone 
worthy of the living root of faith, that they may 
persevere even unto the end." — Inst. lib. 3. cap. 2. 
sect. 1 1 . 

" God indeed affirms, that he wills the conver- 
sion of all men ; and he destines his exhortations 
in common to all : their efficacy, however, depends 
upon the spirit of regeneration Whom- 
soever 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin, 537 

soever God wills to save from destruction, those 
he quickens with the spirit of regeneration." — 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 3. sect. 21. 

" We were elected from eternity, before the 
formation of the world, from no merit of our own, 
but according to the purpose of the divine plea- 
sure." — Inst. lib. 3 cap. 15. sect. 5. 

" If it be evident that it is owing to the will of 
God, that salvation is voluntarily offered to some, 
that others are prevented from access to it. here 
great and difficult questions immediately arise, 
which cannot otherwise be explained, than by 
pious minds settling what opinion it is right to 
hold concerning election and predestination — 
a perplexed question, as it appears to many, 
because they think nothing less reasonable, than 
that some of the common herd of men should be 
predestinated to salvation, others to destruction." 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 21. sect. 1. 

" No one, who would wish to be considered as 
pious, dares absolutely deny the predestination, 
by which God adopts some men to the hope of 
life, adjudges others to eternal death ; but they 
involve it in many cavils, particularly those who 
make prescience the cause of it. And we, indeed, 
ascribe both to God, but it is preposterous to say 
that the one is subject to the other. When we 
attribute prescience to God, we mean that all 

things 



538 Quotations from Calvin, [chap. vii. 
things always were, and perpetually continue, 
under his eyes, so that nothing is future or past to 
his knowledge, but all things are present. And 
indeed so present, that he does not imagine them 
from ideas (in the manner those things are pre- 
sented to us, the memory of which the mind 
retains) but he really looks upon, and sees them, 
as it were, placed before him. And this prescience 
is extended to the universal circuit of the world, 
and to all creatures. Predestination we call the 
eternal decree of God, by which he has deter- 
mined with himself, what he willed to be done 
concerning every man. For all men are not 
created in an equal condition (pari conditione) ; 
but eternal life is pre-ordained to some, eternal 
damnation to others. Therefore, as every one 
was formed for the one or the other end, so we 
say that he was predestinated either to life or to 
death." — Inst. lib. 3. cap. 21. sect. 5. 

" v Although it is now sufficiently clear, that 
God, by a secret counsel, freely elects whom he 
wills, others being rejected, yet his gratuitous 
election is at present only half explained, till we 
come to individuals, to whom God not only offers 
salvation, but so assigns it, that the certainty of the 
effect is not suspended or doubtful ........ That, 

therefore, which the Scripture clearly shews, we 
affirm; that God, by an eternal immutable counsel, 
1 once 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 539 

once appointed those whom he should hereafter 
will to take into salvation ; those, moreover, whom 
he should will to devote to destruction. We 
assert, that this counsel, with respect to the elect, 
was founded in his gratuitous mercy, without any 
regard to human worth ; but that the approach to 
life is precluded to those whom he assigns to 
damnation, by his just indeed and irreprehensible, 
but incomprehensible, judgement." — Inst. lib. 3. 
cap. 21. sect. 7. 

" After Christ asserted that the disciples who 
were given to him belonged to God the father, he 
soon after adds, c I pray for them ; I pray not for 
the world, but for them which thou hast given me ; 
for they are thine (I): Whence it happens, that 
the whole world does not belong to its Creator, 
except that grace saves a few persons from the 
curse and anger of God, and eternal death, who 
would otherwise have perished ; but it leaves the 
world in its destruction, to which it was destined." 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 22. sect. 7. 

" Therefore, if we cannot assign a reason why 
he (God) thinks his own worthy of mercy, except 
because it so pleases him ; neither shall we have 
any other ground for his reprobating others, 
except his will." — Inst. lib. 3. cap. 22. sect. 11. 

■ ( Many, indeed, as if they wished to repel 

odium 

(7) John, c.i 7. v.9. 



540 Quotations from Calvin, [chap. vji. 

odium from God, so acknowledge election^ that 
they deny that any one is reprobated ; buJt too 
ignorantly and childishly ; since election itself 
would not stand, unless opposed to reprobation. 
God is said to separate those whom he aaopts to 
salvation : it would be more than folly to say that 
others gain by chance, or acquire by their own 
industry, that which election alone confers upon 
a few. Those, therefore, whom God passes over, 
he reprobates ; and for no other reason, except 
that he chooses to exclude them from the inheri- 
tance which he predestinates to his sons." — Inst, 
lib. 3. cap. 23. sect 1. 

" I confess, indeed, that all the sons of Adam 
fell into that miserable condition in which they 
are new bound, by the will of God : and that is 
what I asserted at the beginning, that we must 
always return to the sole determination of the 
Divine will." — Inst. lib. 3. cap. 23. sect. 4. 

" Since the disposition of all things is in the 
hand of God ; since the power of salvation and 
of death resides in him ; he so ordains by his 
counsel and his will, that some among men 
should be born devoted to certain death from the 
womb, to glorify his name by their destruction." 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 23. sect. 6. 

" Nor ought that which I say to appear ab- 
surd, that God not only foresaw the fall of the 

first 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 541 

first man, and in it the ruin of his posterity, but 
that it was the dispensation of his will." — Inst, 
lib. 3. cap. 23. sect. 7. 

Speaking of the Decree of Reprobation, he says, 

I confess that it is indeed a horrible decree 
(decretum quidem horribile fateor) ; no one how- 
ever will be able to deny, but that God foreknew 
what would be the end of man, before he formed 
him; and he therefore foreknew it, because he 
had so ordained by his own decree (I)" — Inst, 
lib. 3. cap. 23. sect. 7. 

" The reprobate want to be considered as 
excusable in sinning, because it is impossible for 
them to avoid the necessity of sinning, especially 
since a necessity of this kind is imposed upon 
them by the ordinance of God. But we say, that 
there is no reason for their being excused on 
this ground, since the ordinance of God, by 
which they complain that they are destined to 
destruction, has its own equity, unknown indeed to 
us, but most certain." Inst. lib. 3. cap. 23. sect. 9. 

" That passage of Paul is applicable to this 

point, 

(I) Is it not wonderful, that anyone should ascribe to 
the God of all mercy a decree which he himself con- 
fesses to be horrible f And yet it must be acknowledged, 
that Calvin was a man of piety, and of considerable 
talent and attainment. To what absurdities and incon- 
sistencies will not the human mind be carried by a blind 
attachment to system ! 



54'2 Quotations from Calvin, [chap, vir* 
point, 6 It is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God thatsheweth mercy ( mj; 
not as- they commonly understand it, who make 
a partition ( n) between the grace of God, and the 
will and running of man. For they expound it, 
that the desire and the endeavour of man have 
indeed of themselves no weight, unless they be 
made prosperous by the grace of God ; but they 
contend, that when they are assisted by his bles- 
sing, they have also their share in procuring 
salvation : whose cavil I would rather refute in 
Augustine's words than in my own : — If the Apostle 
meant nothing else, except, that it is not of him 
only that willeth or runneth, unless a merciful 
Lord be present ; we may retort, that it is not of 
mercy only, except the will and running be 
present. Which, if it be manifestly impious, we 
cannot doubt that the Apostle ascribes every thing; 
to the Lord, and leaves nothing to our wills and 
exertions. — Such was the opinion of that holy 
man. Nor do I in the least regard the subtlety 
which they introduce, that Paul would not have 
expressed himself in this manner, unless there had 
been some endeavour and some wfll in us. For 
he did not consider what was in man ; but when 
he saw that some persons assign a part of salva- 
tion 

(m ) Rora, c. 9. v. 16. 

(n) Calvin means, who ascribe a part to the grace of 
God, and a part to the will and running of man* 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 543 
(ion to the industry of man, he simply condemned 
their error in the first member, and then claimed 
the whole sum of salvation for the mercy of God.'' 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 24. sect. 1. 

" Two errors are here to be avoided, because 
some people make man co-operate with God, 
that he may ratify his election with his own suf- 
frage : thus, according to them, the will of man 
is superior to the counsel of God." — Inst. lib. 3. 
cap. 24. sect. 3. 

" That sentence of Christ concerning many 
who are called, but few chosen (0), is very 
wrongly understood in that manner. There will 
be no doubt, if we hold that which ought to b§ 
certain from what precedes, that there are two 
sorts of calling. For there is an universal calling, 
by which God, through the external preaching of 
the word, equally invites all men to him, even 
those to whom he proposes it for the savour of 
death, and as a ground of heavier condemnation. 
The other is a special calling, of which he, at 
most, thinks the faithful only worthy ; while, by 
the interior illumination of his Spirit, he causes 
the word preached to rest upon their hearts." — « 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 24. sect. 8. 

" As by the efficacy of his calling towards the 
elect, God perfects the salvation to which he had 

destined 

(0) Matt. c. 22. v. 14. 



544 Quotations from Calvin. [chap. yii. 

destined them by his eternal decree ; so he has 
his judgements against the reprobate, by which 
he may execute his counsel concerning them. 
Those, therefore, whom he created for the reproach 
of life and the destruction of death, that they 
might be organs of his anger, and examples of 
his severity, that they may come to their end, he 
sometimes deprives of the power of hearing his 
word, sometimes makes them more blind and 
stupid by the preaching of it ... . Therefore that 
Supreme Disposer makes a way for his predesti- 
nation, when he leaves those in blindness, with- 
out the communication of his light, whom he has 
once reprobated."- — Inst. lib. 3. cap. 24. sect. 12. 

" Behold, he directs his voice to them, but it 
is that they may become more deaf ; he lights up 
a light, but it is that they may be made more 
blind ; he proposes a doctrine, but it is that they 
may become more stupid by it : he applies a re- 
medy, but it is that they may not be healed .... 
Nor can this also be controverted, that God de- 
livers his doctrine involved in obscurities to those 
whom he wishes not to be illuminated, that they 
may gain nothing from it, except the being deli- 
vered up to greater stupidity." — Inst. lib. 3. 
cap. 24. sect. 13. 

" That the reprobate do not obey the word of 
God, when explained to them, will be rightly 

imputed 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin* 545 
imputed to the wickedness and maliciousness of 
their own hearts, provided it be at the same time 
added, that thev are therefore addicted to this 
wickedness, because they are raised up by the 
just but inscrutable judgement of God, to illus- 
trate his glory by their damnation."- — Inst. lib. 3. 
cap. 24. sect. 14. 

" Hence we see that the passage is evidently 
twisted, if the will of God, which the Prophet 
mentions, be opposed to his eternal counsel, by 
which he separated the elect from the reprobate." 
—Inst. lib. 3. cap. 24. sect. 15. 

" Moreover, because no description can equal 
the weight of divine vengeance against the repro- 
bate, their torments and sufferings are figured to 
us by corporeal things, namely, by darkness, 
weeping, and gnashing of teeth, unquenchable 
fire, the worm, which dieth not, gnawing their 
heart. For by such modes of expression it is 
certain that the Holy Spirit meant to confound 
with horror all the senses : as, when it is said 
that a deep hell is prepared from eternity, that 
the pile thereof is fire and much wood, that the 
l)reatli of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, 
doth kindle it (p) ; by which things, as we ought 
to be assisted in forming some conception of the 
miserable lot of the impious, so we ought parti- 
cularly 

(p) Is, c. 30, r. 33. c. 66. v, 24. 

Nn 



54» Quotations from Calvin, [chap. viX 

cularly to fix our thoughts upon this, how cala- 
mitous a thing it is, to be alienated from all fel- 
lowship with God; and not only this, but to feel 
that the majesty of God is so adverse to you, 
that you cannot avoid being crushed by it."-— 
Inst. lib. 3. cap. 25. sect. 12. 

" He (Paul) means, that if righteousness were 
in the law of works, our boasting would not be 
excluded ; but because it is of faith only, that 
therefore we must arrogate nothing to ourselves : 
because faith receives all things from God, it 
brings nothing but the humble confession of 
want." — In Rom. iii. 27. 

" Man, left to his own proper nature, is a mass 
composed of sin .... Whence it follows that we, 
so long as we are the sons of Adam, and nothing 
but men, are so enslaved to sin, that we can do 
nothin g but sin : but, that being engrafted in Christ, 
we are freed from this wretched necessity : not 
that we immediately cease altogether to sin, but 
that we may be at length superior in the contest;' 
— In Rom. vi. 6. 

" We are. so addicted to sin, that we can 
do nothing of our own accord but sin."— 
In Rom. vii. 14. 

" Although God begins our salvation, and at 
length completes it, by re-forming us into his own 
image, yet the sole cause is his good pleasure; 

by 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 547 

by which he makes us partners with Christ."-—* 
In Rom. viii. 6. 

" They (the Sophists) boast, that the heart may 
be bent either way, provided it be assisted by the 
instinct of the Spirit; that the free option of good 
and evil is in oar power ; that the Spirit only 
brings assistance ; but that it is ours to choose or 
to reject." — In Rom. viii. 7. 

, " Paul means, that that eternal decree of God, 
by which he elected us for sons before the cre- 
ation of the world, concerning which he tes- 
tifies to us by the Gospel, and the faith of which 
he seals upon our hearts by the Spirit, would be 
vain, unless a certain resurrection were promised, 
which is the effect of it." — In Rom, viii. 23. 

" It is true, that their own sins, under the 
direction of God's providence, are so far from 
injuring the saints, that they rather promote their 
salvation .... Paul teaches, that those whom he 
called the worshippers of God, were first elected 
by him ; for it is certain that the order is on that 
account marked, that we may know that it depends 
upon the gratuitous adoption of God, as upon a 
first cause, that all things succeed to the saints 
for salvation." — In Rom. viii. 28. 

" The foreknowkdge of God, which Paul here 
mentions, is not a naked prescience, as some un- 
skilful persons foolishly pretend, but an adoption 
sj n 2 by 



54-S Quotations from Calvin. [cha£. vii, 
by which he has always separated his sons from 

the reprobate Wherefore they whom I have 

mentioned, absurdly infer, that God has only 
chosen those, who he foresaw would be worthy 
of his grace." — -In Rom. viii. 29. 

" He (Paul) openly refers the whole cause to 
the election of God, and that gratuitous, and by 
no means dependent upon men, that nothing may 
be sought beyond the goodness of God, in the 
salvation of the pious ; in the destruction of the 
reprobate, nothing beyond his just severity. Let 
there be, then, this proposition, — As the blessing 
of the covenant separates the Israelitish nation 
from all other people, so the election of God dis- 
criminates the men of that nation, while it pre- 
destinates some to salvation, others to eternal 
damnation. The second proposition, — There is 
no other foundation of that election than the mere 
goodness of God, and mercy, even after the fall 
©f Adam, which entirely, without any regard to 
works, embraces those whom he pleases. The 
third proposition, — The Lord in his gratuitous 
election is free and exempt from this necessity, 
that he should equally impart the same grace to 
all : nay ? rather he passes over those whom he 

wills, but takes those whom he wills It is 

established, therefore, that the whole strength of 
our election is shut up in the sole purpose of 
10 God; 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 549 

God ; that merits are here of no avail, which 
can have no effect but to death ; that worthiness, 
of which there is none, is not regarded ; but that 
the 'loving- kindness of God alone reigns. There- 
fore it is a false dogma, and contrary to the word 
of God, that God so either chooses or reprobates, 
as he foresees that every one will be worthy or 
unworthy of his grace." — In Rom. ix. 11. 

" Ke collects from that testimony this incon- 
trovertible consequence, that our election is to be 
attributed neither to our industry, nor effort, nor 
endeavour ; but that the whole is to be referred 
to the counsel of God : lest any one should think 
that those who are chosen are therefore chosen 
because they have so deserved, or have by any 
means gained to themselves the favour of God ; 
or lastlv, that there is any atom of worthiness 
by which God may be moved. But understand 
simply, that it does not depend upon our will, or 
upon our endeavour (for he has put running for 
effort or contention) mat we should be reckoned 
among the elect : but that the whole of this is of 
Divine goodness, which of its own accord takes 
those who neither will, nor endeavour, nor even 
think of it ... . Let us therefore determine, that 
the salvation of those, whom it pleases God to 
mve 3 is so ascribed to the mercy of God, that 
9 n 3 nothing 



550 Quotations from Calvin, [chap. vn. 

nothing remains for the industry of man." — • 
In Rom. ix. 16. 

66 He (Paul) wishes- to establish in us, that in 
that difference which appears between the elect 
and the reprobate, our mind should be content 
that it so seemed good to God to illuminate some 
men to salvation, and to blind others to death ; 
and that it should not enquire after a cause farther 
than his will. For we ought to rest upon those 
expressions — - on' whom he will' — and 6 whom he 
will beyond which he does not permit us to 
proceed. Bat the word e hardening,' when it is 
attributed to God in the Scriptures, does not signify 
barely a permission (as some weak guides would 
have it), but the action also of Divine wrath : for 
all" external things, which tend to the blinding of 
the reprobate, are instruments of his anger. But 
Satan himself, who acts efficaciously within, is so 
far his minister, that he does not act^ but by his 
command. Therefore that frivolous subterfuge of 
the schoolmen, concerning prescience, falls to the 
ground. For Paul does not assert that the de- 
struction of the ungodly was foreseen by the Lord, 
but that it was ordained by his counsel and 
will. As Solomon also teaches, that the de- 
struction of the wicked was not onlv foreknown, 
but that the wicked themselves were purposely 

created 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 551 
created that they might perish (q)T — In Rom. 
ix. 18. 

" Impious persons object, that men are ex- 
empt from guilt, if the will of God has the prin- 
cipal part in their salvation or destruction. Does 
Paul deny it? Nay, by his answer he confirms 
that God appointed what seemed good to him 
concerning men ; that, nevertheless, men in vain 
and furiously rise up to quarrel, .because God of 
his own right assigns to his creatures what lot he 
wills." — In Rom. ix. 20. 

" The second reason manifests the glory of 
God in the destruction of the reprobate ; because 
by it the fulness of the Divine goodness towards 
the elect is more clearly confirmed. For in what 
do the latter differ from the former, except that 
they are delivered by the Lord from the same 
gulf of destruction ; and that, not by any merit 
of their own, but by his gratuitous kindness. 
Therefore it is impossible but that this immense 
mercy towards the elect should be more and more 
commended, since we see how wretched all those 
are who do not escape his anger He there- 
fore meant to signify, that the elect are the in- 
struments or organs, by which God exercises his 
mercy, that he may glorify his name in them. 
But although in this second member he more ex- 

p'resslj 

($) Prov. c. 16. v. 4. 

jn y 4 



552 Quotations from Calvin, [chap, vn, 
pressly asserts, that it is God who prepares his 
elect for glory, when before he had simply said that 
the reprobate are vessels prepared for destruction, 
yet there is no doubt but that both preparations 
depend upon the secret counsel of God. Other- 
wise Paul would have said that the reprobate give 
themselves up, or cast themselves into destruc- 
tion. But now he signifies that they are already 
assigned to their lot, before they are born." — 
In Ptom. ix. 23. 

u As the elect alone are by the grace of God 
delivered from destruction, so whoever are not 
elected, must remain blinded. For this Paul 
means, as far as regards the reprobate, that the 
beginning of their ruin and damnation is from 
hence, that they are abandoned by God. The 
testimonies which he adduces, although they are 
collected from various passages of Scripture, 
rather than taken from one place, yet seem all 
to be foreign to his purpose, if you more closely 
examine them according to their circumstances. 
For you will every where see, that the blinding 
and hardening are mentioned as scourges of God, 
by which he avenges the sins already committed 
by the ungodly. But Paul here strives to prove, 
that those are blinded, not only who have already 
deserved it by their wickedness, but who were 
reprobated by God before the creation of the 

world* 



£hay. vii.] Quotations f rem Calvin. 553 
world. You may thus briefly solve this difficulty, 
that the origin of this wickedness, which thus 
provokes against itself the fury of God, is the 
perversity of the nature abandoned by God. 
Wherefore Paul, not without reason, has cited 
these things concerning eternal reprobation, which 
proceed from it, as fruit from its tree, a river 
from its source. The ungodly, indeed, are pu- 
nished with biindness on account of their wicked- 
ness, by the just judgement of God; but if we 
seek the origin of their destruction, we must 
come to this, that being cursed by God, they can 
call forth and accumulate nothing, but curse, 
by all their deeds, words, and counsels. — In, 
Rom. xi. 7. 

" Paul means two things here ; that there is 
nothing in any man, for the merit of which he 
should be preferred to others, except the mere 
grace of God ; but that God, in the dispensation 
of his grace, is not prevented from giving it to 
whom he wills." — In. Rom. xi. 32. 

" There is no doubt but that God, before the 
formation of the world, decreed what he would do 
concerning every one of us; and by his secret 
judgement assigned to every one his proper part." 
In Gal. i. 1 5. 

" Here he makes his eternal election the foun- 
dation and first cause, as well of our calling, as of 

all 



554 Quotatiom from Cahhi. [chap. vii. 
all the good things which we derive from God. 
Therefore if the reason be asked, why God has 
called us to the participation of the Gospel; why 
he daily vouchsafes us so many benefits ; why he 
opens heaven to us ; we must always return to this 
principle, - namely, because he chose us before 
the world was created. It is, moreover, to be cok 
lected from the time itself, that the election was 
gratuitous. For what could be our worth, or 
what was our merit, before the world was formed ? 
For that sophistical cavil is childish, that we 
were not therefore chosen, because we were 
already worthy, but because God foresaw that we 
should be worthy. For we were all lost in Adam. 
Therefore, unless God by his election redeems us 
from destruction, he will foresee nothing else. He 
uses the same argument to the Romans, in speak- 
ing of Jacob and Esau : before they were born, 
he says, or had done any good or evil. Some 
sophists of the S or bonne would reply, that they 
would act hereafter, and that this was foreknown 
to God. But it is in vain to make this reply, con- 
cerning men corrupt by nature, in whom nothing 
can be seen but matter for destruction. Secondly, 
he confirms that the election is gratuitous, when 
he acids, ' in Christ.' For if we were chosen in 
Christ, it was therefore external to ourselves ; 
that is, not from the consideration of our worth, 

but 



chap, vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 555 

but because by the benefit of adoption our Hea- 
venly Father has grafted us into the body of 
Christ. Lastly, the name of Christ excludes all 
merit, and whatever men have of themselves^ 
for from his saying, that we are chosen in Christ, 
it follows that we are unworthy in ourselves .... 
. . . Hence we may collect, that holiness, inno- 
cence, and whatever virtue there is in men, is 
the fruit of election. Therefore by this short 
sentence Paul still more expressly sets aside all 
consideration of merit. For if God foresaw in 
us any thing worthy of election, the words would 
have been directly contrary to what we now read ; 
for they signify, that the whole of our holy and 
innocent life is derived from the election of Ciod. 
Whence then does it happen that some live 
piously in the fear of the Lord ; others in security 
prostitute themselves to all wickedness ? If we 
may believe Paul, there is certainly no other rea- 
son but that the latter retain their own disposition, 
the former are elected to holiness. The cause is 
certainly not subsequent to its effect : wherefore 
election does not depend upon the righteousness 
of works, of which Paul here testifies that it is the 
cause." — In Ephes. i. 4. 

? The Lord, by adopting us, does not regard 
what sort of persons we are, nor is he reconciled 
%o us from any personal worth on our part • but 

the 



Quotations from Calvin, [chap. vir. 

the sole cause with him is the eternal good plea- 
sure of his will, by which he has predestinated 
us. "—In Ephes. i. 11. 

" The periphrasis is to be remarked, in which 
he describes God alone as so working all things 
after the counsel of his own will, that he leaves 
nothing to man. Therefore in no respect does 
he admit men to a share of this praise, as if they 
contributed something of their own. For God 
regards nothing exterior to himself, by which he 
might be induced to elect us ; since the decree 
alone of his own will is with him the cause of his 
electing:— In Ephes. i. it. 

" This, I say, is the fountain, and this the 
first cause, that God knew in himself, before the 
creation of the world, whom he would elect to 
salvation. But we must remark with prudence > 
i of what sort this foreknowledge is. For sophists, 
that they n:ay obscure the grace of God, pretend 
that tire merits of every one are foreseen by God, 
and that the reprobate are so distinguished from 
the elect, as every one is worthy of this or that 
lot. But Scripture every where opposes the pur- 
pose of God, on which our salvation is founded, 
to our merits. When, therefore, Peter calls them 
elect according to the foreknowledge of God, he 
means that the cause of it depends upon nothing 
else, but is to be sought for in God alone, be- 
cause 



<chap. vii.] Quotations from Calvin. 55) 
cause he himself, of his own accord, was the author 
of our election. Therefore the foreknowledge of 
God sets aside all regard to human worth."— 
In 1 Pet. i. i & 2. 

" It is now nine years since Albert Pighlus, of 
Campen, a man possessed of frantic boldness, 
endeavoured, in the same work, both to establish 
the free-will of man, and to overthrow the secret 
counsel of God, by which he elects some to sal- 
vation, and destines others to eternal destruction. 
But since he has attacked me by name, through 
whose side he might wound the pious and sound 
doctrine, I have thought it necessary to re- 
press the sacrilegious madness of the man." — » 
De Praed. p. 690. 

" We now hear, that it was given us from hea- 
ven, that we should believe in Christ ; because, 
before the origin of the world, we were ordained 
to faith, as well as elected to the inheritance of 
* eternal life." — De Prasd. p. 691. 

u If we be not ashamed of the Gospel, we must 
confess what is there openly delivered ; that God 
by his own eternal good pleasure, independent of 
every other cause, destined those, whom he thought 
proper, to salvation, others being rejected ; and 
illuminates those to whom he vouchsafed a sra- 
tuitous adoption, with his Spirit, that they may 
receive the life in Christ ; that others are of their 

own 



55 8 Quotations from Calvin, [chap, viu 
own accord so incredulous, that, being destitute 
of the light of faith, they remain in darkness." — - 
De Praed. p. 691. 

" There is certainly a mutual relation between 
the elect and the reprobate ; so that the election 
of which he speaks cannot stand, unless we con- 
fess that God separated certain persons, accord- 
ing to his pleasure (quos ilii visum est), from 
others.'' — De Prasd. p. 694. - 

£; God, from the beginning, decreed what should 
happen to the whole human race."' — De Occ. Dei 
Provid. p. 735. 

* c I acknowledge that this is my doctrine, that 
Adam fell not by the mere permission of God, 
but also by his secret counsel ; and that by his 
fall he drew all his posterity to eternal destruc- 
tion."— De Occ. Dei Provid. p. 736. 

" I confess that I wrote that the fall of Adam 
was not accidental, -but ordained by the secret 
decree of God."— -De Occ. Dei Provid. p. 738. 

" But you -are greatly deceived, if you think 
that the eternal counsels of God can be so sepa- 
rated, that he elected some men to salvation, and 
destined 110 one to destruction. For if he elected 
some, it certainly follows that all are not elected. 
Moreover, what shall be said of these latter, ex- 
cept that they are left to themselves, to perish ? 
Therefore there must be a mutual relation be- 
tween 



chat, vii.j Quotations from Calvm. tfgjf 
iween the reprobate and the elect." — -Christ. 
Liberteto, p. 142. 

" I am not indeed ignorant that if any thing 
be granted to human authority, it is far more 
equitable that I should subscribe to you, than 
that you should come over io my opinion. But 
this is not the question, nor is even to be wished 
by the pious ministers of Christ. It is indeed 
becoming, that this should be aimed at on both 
sides, that we should agree in the pure -truth of 
God. But a religious scruple, to confess inge- 
nuously, prevents me from acceding to you in 
this point of doctrine, because you seem to dis- 
pute too philosophically concerning free-will ; in 
treating of election, to have no other object but to 
accommodate yourself to the common sense of 
men. Nor can this be attributed to inadvertence, 
that you, an acute and prudent man, and well 
versed in Scripture, confound the election of 
God with his promises, which are universal. For 
nothing is more generally known, than that the 
preaching of the word , is promiscuously common 
to all, but that the spirit of faith is, by a singular 
privilege, given to the elect alone. The promises 
are universal ; how happens it, then, that their 
efficacy does not equally flourish in all ? Truly, 
Jbecause God does not lay bare his arm to all, 
Nor is there any need of dispute upon this sub- 
ject, with men moderately versed in Scripture, 

that 



560 Quotations from Cakin. [chaip. vxt. 
that the gift of faith is peculiar; since the 
promises equally offer the grace of Christ to all, 
and God with an external voice invites whoever 
they may be to salvation." — Ep, ad Melanch* 
thonem, p. 146. 

To these Quotations from Calvin, I shall sub- 
join the Lambeth Articles, and also the Articles 
of the Svnod of Dort, both taken from Heylin's 
Quinquarticular History, that my readers may see 
what were considered as the peculiar doctrines of 
Calvinism at the end of the 1 6th, and at the be- 
ginning of the 17th century, and may judge whe- 
ther any thing like these doctrines be contained 
in the Articles, Liturgy, or Homilies of our 
Church. 

Speaking of what was passing at Cambridge, 
Heylin says, " From Barret pass we on to Baroe, 
betwixt whom and Dr. Whitacres there had -been 
some clashings touching predestination and re- 
probation, the certainty of salvation, and the 
possibility of falling from the grace received. 
And the heats grew so high at last, that the 
Calvinians thought it necessary, in point of pru- 
dence, to effect that by power and favour, which 
they were not able to obtain by force of argu- 
ment. To which end they first addressed them- 
selves to the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, then being 

their 



chap, vi i.] The Lambeth Articles. 561 

their Chancellor, acquainting him by Dr. Some, 
then Deputy Vice- Chancellor, with the disturb- 
ances made by Barret, thereby preparing him to 
hearken to such further motions as should bt 
made unto him in pursuit of that quarrel. But 
finding little comfort there, they resolved to steer 
their course by another compass, And having 
prepossessed the most Rev. Archbishop Whitgift 
with the turbulent carriage of those men, the 
affronts given to Dr. Whitacres, whom (for his 
learned and laborious writings against Cardinal 
Bellarmine) he most highly favoured, and the 
great inconveniences like to grow by that public 
discord, they gave themselves good hopes of com- 
posing those differences, not by the way of an 
accommodation, but an absolute conquest; and 
to this end they dispatched to him certain of their 
number in the name of the rest, such as were 
interested in the quarrel (Dr. Whitacres himself 
for one, and therefore" like to stickle hard for the 
obtaining their ends ;) the Articles to which they 
had reduced the whole state of the business being 
brought to them ready drawn, and nothing want- 
ing to them but the face of authority, wherewith, 
as with Medusa's head, to confound their enemies, 
and turn their adversaries into stones. And that 
they might be sent back with the face of authority, 
the most Rev. Archbishop Whitgift, calling unto 
O him 



562 The Lambeth Articles, [chap. vii. ' 

him Dr. Fletcher, Bishop of Bristol, then newly 
elected unto London, and Dr. Richard Vaughan, 
Lord elect of Bangor, together with Dr. Tyndal, 
Dean of Ely, Dr. Whitacres, and the rest of the 
Divines which came from Cambridge, proposed 
the said Articles to their consideration, at his 
house in Lambeth, on the 10th of November 
A. D. 1595, by whom these Articles were agreed 
on in these following words': 

1 . God from eternity hath predestinated certain 
men unto life ; certain men he hath reprobated. 

2. The moving or efficient cause of predesti^ 
nation unto life, is not the foresight of faith, or of 
perseverance, or of good works, or of any thing 
that is in the person predestinated, but only the 
good-will and pleasure of God. 

3. There is predetermined a certain number of 
the predestinate, which can neither be augmented, 
nor diminished. 

4. Those who are not predestinated to salva- 
tion, shall be -necessarily damned for their sins. 

5. A true living and justifying faith, and the 
Spirit of God justifying, is not extinguished, 
falleth not awa\% it vanisheth not away in the 
elect, either totally, or finally. 

6. A man truly faithful, that is, such a one 
who is endued with a justifying faith, is certain, 
with the full assurance of faith, of the remission 

A3 of 



chap, vii.] The Lambeth Articles. 563 
of his sins, and of his everlasting salvation by 
Christ. 

7. Saving grace is not given, is not granted, 
is not communicated to all men, by which they 
may be saved if they will. 

8. No man can come unto Christ, unless it be 
given unto him, and unless the Father shall draw* 
him ; and all men are not drawn by the Father, 
that they may come to the Son. 

9. It is not in the will or power of every one 
to be saved. 

" Now in these Articles there are these two 
things to be considered, first, the authority by 
which they w r ere made, and secondly, the effect 
produced by them, in order to the end proposed. 
And first, as touching the authority by which they 
were made, it was so far from being legal and 
sufficient, that it was plainly none at all. For 
what authority could there be in so thin a meet- 
ing, consisting only of the Archbishop himself, 
two other Bishops, (of which but one had actually 
received consecration) one Dean, and half-a-dozen 
Doctors, and other Ministers, neither empowered 
to any such thing by the rest of the Clergy, nor 
authorized to it by the Queen. And therefore 
their determinations of no more authority, as td 
binding of the Church, or prescribing to the judge- 
ment of particular persons, than as if one Earl, 
O o 2 the 



,564 The Lambeth Articles. [chaf.vit, 
the eldest son of two or three others, meeting 
with half-a-dozen gentlemen in Westminster-Hall, 
can be affirmed to be in a capacity of making 
orders which must be looked on by the subject as 
Acts of Parliament. A declaration they might 
make of their own opinions, or of that which they 
thought fittest to be holden in the present case, 
but neither Articles nor Canons to direct the 
Church: for being but opinions still, and the 
opinions of private and particular persons, they 
were not to be looked upon as public doctrines. 
And so much was confessed by the Archbishop 
himself, when he was called in question for it be- 
fore the Queen, who being made acquainted with, 
all that passed by the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, 
who neither liked the tenets nor the manner 
of proceeding in them, was most passionately 
offended that any such innovation should be made 
in the public doctrine of this Church ; and once 
resolved to have them all attainted of a premunire. 
But afterwards, upon the interposition of some 
friends, and the reverend esteem she had of the 
excellent prelate, the Lord Archbishop, (whom 
she commonly called her Black Husband,) she was 
willing to admit him to his defence : and he ac- 
cordingly declared in all humble manner, that he 
and his associates had not made* any Articles, 
Canons, or Decrees, with an intent that they 

should 



€hap. Yii.] The Lambeth Articles. 565 

should serve hereafter for a standing rule to direct 
the Church, but only had resolved on some pre- 
positions to be sent to Cambridge, for the appeas- 
ing of some unhappy differences in the University: 
with which answer her Majesty being somewhat 
pacined, commanded, notwithstanding, that he 
should speedily recar and suppress those Articles ; 
which was performed with such care and diligence, 
that a copy of them was not to be found for a long- 
time after," 

" Next touching the effect produced by them 
in order to the end so proposed • so far they were 
from appeasing the present controversies, and 
suppressing Baroe and his party, that his disciples 
and adherents became more united, and the 
breach wider than before/ 5 He then proceeds to 
state some facts, to prove that the majority of per- 
sons at this time at Cambridge were Anti-Calvin- 
isls, and that "the genuine doctrine of the Church 
be pan then to break through the clouds of Calvin- 
ism, wherewith it was before obscured, and to 
shine forth again in its former lustre."" 

He also says that, " In the Conference at 
Hampton Court," at the accession of James the 
First, it was demanded by the spokesman of the 
Calvinists, that these assertions (the Lambeth 
Articles) should be inserted into the Book of 
O 3 Articles^ 



566 Articles of Synod of Dort. [chap. vir. 
Articles ( r) . The demand to admit them, was 
an admission that the demanders did not believe 
their doctrines to be already contained therein ; 
and an admission of no small weight, as the 
speaker was Dr. John Reynolds, a man of most 
extensive learning," 

The Articles of the Synod of Dort, Heylin 
introduces in this manner: — " Because particular 
inen may sometimes be mistaken in a public doc- 
trine, and that the judgement of such men being 
collected by the hands of their enemies, may be 
unfaithfully related ; we will next look on the con- 
clusions of the Synod of Dort, which is to be con- 
ceived to have delivered the genuine sense of all 
the parties, as being a representative of all the 
Calvinian Churches of Europe (except those of 
France) some few Divines of England being added 
to them. -Of the calling and proceedings of this. 
Synod we shall have occasion to speak further in 
the following Chapter. At this time I shall only 
lay down the results thereof in the five contro- 
verted points (as I find them abbreviated by Dan. 
Tilenus) according to the heads before mentioned 
in summing up the doctrine of the Council of 
Trent." 

(r) Collier says the same thing in his Ecclesiastical 

History, 



en ap. vii.] Articles of Synod of Ddrt. 567 



ARTICLE THE FIRST. 

Of Divine Predestination. 
That God, by an absolute decree, hath elected 
to salvation a very small number of men, without 
,any regard to their faith or obedience whatsoever ; 
and secluded from saving grace ail the rest of 
mankind, and appointed them, by the same decree, 
to eternal damnation, without any regard to their 
infidelity or impenitency. 

ARTICLE THE SECOND. 

Of the Merit and Effect of Chrisfs Death. 
That Jesus Christ hath not suffered death for 
any other, but for those elect only; having neither 
had any intent nor commandment of his Father, 
to make satisfaction for the sins of the whole 
world. 

ARTICLE THE THIRD. 

Of Maris Will in the State of Nature. 
That by Adam's Fall his posterity lost their free- 
will, being put to an unavoidable necessity to 
do, or not to do, whatsoever they do, or do not, 
whether it be good or evil ; being thereunto pre- 
destinated by the eternal and effectual secret 
decree of God. 

ARTICLE THE FOURTH. 

Of the Manner of Conversion. 
That God, to save his elect from the corrupt 
mass, doth beget faith in them by a power equal 
O 4 to 



568 Articles of Synod of Dort. [chap, vii. 

to that whereby he created the world, and raised 
up the dead ; insomuch, that suoh, unto whom 
he gives that grace, cannot reject it, and the rest, 
being reprobate, cannot accept it. 

ARTICLE THE FIFTH. 

Of the Certainty of Perseverance. 

That such as have once received that grace by 
faith, can never fall from it finally or totally, not- 
' withstanding the most enormous sins they can, 
commit. 

" This is the shortest, and withal the most 
favourable summary which I have hitherto met 
with of the conclusions of this Synod : that 
which was drawn by the Remonstrants in their 
Antidotum, being much more large, and compre- 
hending many things by way of inference, which 
are not positively expressed in the words thereof." 



Such is Calvinism ; and it is in its nature so 
inconsistent with the attributes of God, so con- 
trary to the express declarations of Scripture, and 
so repugnant to the feelings of the human mind, 
that it seems only necessary to state the system 
simply and fully in all its parts and consequences, 
to ensure its rejection by every unprejudiced per- 
son. The modern advocates of this system are 
indeed so aware of its forbidding aspect, that they 
never bring it into open view by a plain statement 



chap, vii.] Calvinism. 569 

of the doctrines which they really support ; and 
rarely venture to quote from the writings, or 
appeal to the authority of their master; they 
shrink from the Articles of the Calvinistic Creed, 
and virtually allowing them to be indefensible, 
are driven to the necessity of asserting, that their 
system of Calvinism is not to be judged of by the 
doctrines of Calvin himself ; that they profess a 
sort of moderate Calvinism ; Calvinism reduced 
and qualified ; purged of its most offensive tenets, 
and retaining only those which are less revolting 
to reason and common sense, and less derogatory 
to the perfections of the Deity. But Calvinism, 
however modified and explained, while its cha- 
racteristic principles are preserved, will always be 
found liable to the most serious objections (s) ; 
and if those principles, by which it is distinguished 
as a sect of Christianity, be taken away, it is no 
longer Calvinism. Calvinism, in reality, will not 

bear 

(s) Heylin says, that it is related by Heistibachius, that 
die Landgrave of Turing being by his friends admonished 
of his^vicious conversation and dangerous condition, he 
made them this answer, viz. Si praedestinatus suni, nulla 
peccatapoteruntmihi regnum coelorum auferre;si praesci- 
tus, nulla opera mini illud valebant conferre; that is to say> 
If Ibe elected, no sins can possibly bereaveme of the king- 
dom of heaven ; if reprobated, no good deeds can advance 
me to it. " An objection, says Heylin, not more old than 
common, but such, I must confess, to which I never found 
a satisfactory answer from the pen of Supi alapsarian or 
Sublapsarian, within the small compass of my reading," 



57$ Calvinism* [chap. vii. 

bear defalcation, or admit of partial adoption. It 
has at least the merit of being so far consistent with 
itself. Its peculiar doctrines, considered as a 
system, are so connected and dependent upon 
each other, that if you embrace one, you must 
embrace all ; and if the falsehood of one part of 
the system be proved, fne whole falls to the 
ground. I cannot but suspect that many Cal- 
vinists deceive themselves more than they deceive 
others. They seem not to take a complete view 
of their own system. They contemplate certain 
parts, and keep others entirely out of sight. They 
dwell with pride and satisfaction upon the idea, 
that they themselves are of that small number 
whom God has predestinated to salvation, without 
reflecting that it is incompatible with the character 
of an infinitely just and merciful Being, to consign 
the far greater part of his rational creatures to 
inevitable and eternal torment They flatter 
themselves that their own conduct is governed by 
Divine grace, though it may be denied to others, 
who have an equal claim to the favour of their 
Maker. They- cherish the persuasion, that the 
infallible guidance of the Spirit will ultimately 
lead them to heaven, though they may occasionally 
sin, without considering that irresistible grace 
must be equally inconsistent with human freedom, 
and with the violation of the commands of God, 



[ 57i ] 



CHAPTER THE EIGHTH, 



CONTAINING 

A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF WHAT ARE NOW 

CALLED CALVIMJSTIC DOCTRINES. 
M 

f- 1 1 H E Quotations which have been produced 
in the three preceding Chapters, from the 
Writings of the antient Fathers, and from the 
Works of Calvin, not only prove that the peculiar 
tenets of Calvinism are in direct opposition to the 
Doctrines maintained in the primitive Church of 
Christ, but they also shew that there is a great 
similarity between the Calvinistic system and the 
earliest heresies. The assertion of Simon Magus, 
who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, 
land called by ecclesiastical historians the first 
Christian heretic, that 46 men are saved accord- 
ing to his grace, and not according to just works," 
contains in it the essence of Calvinism ; and it 
clearly appears that Irenaeus considered this as an 
heretical (t) opinion. We also trace Calvinism 
in the tenets of the Basilidians, who considered 
faith as a gift of Nature, not as the rational con- 
sent of a mind endowed with free-will, or as in, 
any degree acquired by human exertion ; and 
who represented faith and election as confined to 

their 

ft) P. 97- 



5/2 Historical Account of [chap. vnr. 

their own sect, and conveying an assurance of 
salvation. The Valentinians, like the Calvinists 
of later days, affirmed, that one part of mankind 
is certain of salvation, and another incapable of 
attaining it; that some men are naturally goo|i ? 
and some naturally bad ; some ordained by 
Nature to be saved, others to perish; and they 
called themselves the Elect Seed, pre-ordained to 
salvation. The Manichseans denied the freedom 
-of the human will ; spoke of the elect as persons 
who could not sin, or fail of salvation ; and con- 
tended that the nature of man is incapable of im- 
provement or change. These and other heretics 
of the second and third centuries, who maintained 
similar opinions, were all of the Gnostic sect ( u) ; 
and their religion was a mixture of the tenets of 
the Eastern Philosophy with the truths of Divine 
Revelation. The absurd notions which they held 
concerning the origin of evil, and the creation and 
government of the world (x) y were so manifestly 
contrary to the principles of the Gospel., that very 

little 

( u) According to the Benedictine Editor of Irenaeus, 
one of the three leading principles of the Gnostic sect 
was, Opera nihil ad salutem juvare ; sed earn ab ima super- 
narura rerum cognitione pendere. Diss. i. p. 57. « That 
works are of no avail to salvation; but that it depends 
solely upon the knowledge of things above." 

(x) Vide Tert. de Praesc. Hseret. et adv. Val. Epiph. 
Haer. 31. Iren. lib. 1. cap. 23. 



chap, vni.] C atomistic Doctrines, 573 

little notice is taken of them by the early orthodox 
Fathers ; but enough is said to shew, that they 
considered their doctrines concerning grace, faith, 
election, and salvation, as heretical and unscrip- 
tural. The peace of the Church seems to have 
been very little disturbed by any dissension upon 
these points during the first four centuries ; and 
as a proof of this, it may be observed, that there 
is nothing of a controversial spirit in the expo- 
sition the Fathers have given of the texts in 
Scripture, which have since been the subject of 
so much dispute. They explained not only the 
true sense of these passages, but the sense which 
was admitted and understood to be the true one 
by all the members of the Catholic Church. The 
principal object of their writings was, to establish 
the divine origin and superior excellence of the 
Gospel dispensation ; and to enforce the duty 
and necessity of lively faith and practical 
obedience™ The universality of the Redemption 
purchased by the death of Christ, the assistance 
of Divine grace vouchsafed to every sincere, 
believer of the Gospel, the freedom of the human 
will, and the possibility of every Christian work- 
ing out his salvation, are treated in the passages 
I have quoted, as fundamental and undisputed 
truths. This harmony and agreement continued 
to the beginning of the 5 th century, when Pe'lagius 

extolled 



574 Historical Account of [chap, vilr.- 
extolled the powers of the human mind to a degree 
which superseded ali influence of the Holy Spirit. 
He was warmly opposed by Augustine, Bishop of 
Hippo in Africa, a man of lively parts, but of 
unsteady principles ; of active zeal, but so de- 
ficient in learning, that it is doubted whether he 
could read the Scriptures of the New Testament 
in their original language, or was acquainted with 
the writings of the primitive Fathers. He was id 
the early part of his life a Manichaean, and though 
he had renounced that heresy, some remains of it" 
seem to have been still left upon his mind ; and 
in combating the error of Pelagius, he naturally 
fell into the opposite extreme. Not content with 
asserting the necessity of Divine grace in forming 
a Christian temper and a saving faith, he main- 
tained that human exertions are of no avail, and 
that the whole of man's salvation is effected by the 
irresistible operation of the Holy Spirit ; and that 
God, from the foundation of the world, decreed 
to save some men, and to consign others to eternal 
punishment (y) : thus were the tenets, of the Basi- 

lidians 

(y) These doctrines were so directly in opposition to 
-what lie had written before the Pelagian controversy, 
that towards the end of his life he thought it necessary 
to publish <c Retractations," in which he acknowledged 
a change of opinion: Propterea, says he, nunc facio 
libros, in cruibus opuscula mea retractanda suscepi, ut 

nee 



chap. viii.] Calvinlstlc Doctrines. 575 

Vidians and Valentinians upon these points, with- 
out the other absurdities of those sects^ brought 

forth, 

nee me ipsum in omnibus me secutum fuisse, demon- 
strem. Cap. 2x. De Dono Perseverantise. — I know of 
no author, antient or modern, in whose works there are 
so many contradictions and inconsistencies as in those of 
Augustine. That he did not always support Calvinistic 
opinions, as they have been since called, fully appears 
from the quotations which I have given from several of 
his early works: Mi hi licet addere, quod si divereas 
Sancti Augustini sententias in hac materia colligere 
vellem^ corpus quoddam ex diversissimis partibus coap- 
tarem. Uno loco dicit, nostram salutem absolute de- 
creto esse dehnitam ; alibi nihilominus afHrmat pendere 
iilam a nostra voiuntate : Prsescientiam esse poster! o rem 
decreto Reprobationis, et esse item anteriorem : Nostra 
libertate gratiam adimpleri, et libertatem in usum a 
gratia deduci: Gratiam esse victricem, sed et eidem 
nostram libertatem resistere ; Solum peccatum originis 
plures in damnationem perpetuam conjicere, et homines 
darnnari ob propria tantum peccata, et libertatis rebel- 
lionem : Hie arma sumsit contra gratiam, et hie eandeni 
cvexit, Joannes Adamus quoted page 15 of Cardinal 
Noris's Vind. Aug. " It is however certain, says Mo* 
sheiin, that the accuracy and solidity of Augustine's 
judgement were by no means proportionable to the emi- 
nent talents now mentioned ; and that, upon many occa- 
sions, he was more guided by the violent impulse of a 
warm imagination, than by the cool dictates of reason 
and prudence. Hence that ambiguity which appears in 
his writings, and which has sometimes rendered the most 
attentive readers uncertain with respect to his real senti- 
ments ; and hence also the just complaints which many 

bav§ 



576 Historical A ccount of [chap. vnr. 
forth, from the same impure source of Eastern 
Philosophy, by a person of high station in the 
Church, of irreproachable character, and in other 
respects of orthodox faith, and put into a regular 
and systematic form, for the purpose of refuting 
an acknowledged and dangerous error. But 
even these advantages, aided by ingenious reason- 
ing and an imposing style, could not procure a 
general adoption of the novel doctrine of Absolute 
Decrees ; and almost the whole body of Christians 
still adhered to the opinions concerning predes- 
tination and grace, which had prevailed, without 
interruption or doubt, for more than four hundred 
years. The controversy soon subsided, and the 
subject was scarcely discussed in the next four 

hundred 

have made of the contradictions that are so frequent in his 
works, and of the levity and precipitation, with which 
he set himself to write upon a variety of subjects, before 
he had examined them with a sufficient degree of at- 
tention and diligence." V ossius, p. 666, says, that 
Augustine gave four different interpretations, in different 
parts of his works, of these words, ' Who will have all 
men to be saved I Tim. c. 2. v 4. There was like- 
wise so much obscurity even in the later writings of Au- 
gustine, that Prosper could not ascertain what was his 
opinion upon an important point. Vide Grot. De Dog. 
Pel. p. 362. The charge of inconsistency, though in a 
less degree, may be urged against Calvin also. And 
indeed there is no class of writers, in whom we find 
so many inconsistencies, as in those who maintain Cai- 
vinistic opinions. 



t n a p. v r i i.] Calvinistie Doctrines. 577 

hundred years (z). About the middle of the 
ninth century, Goteschalc (a) brought the opinions 
of Augustine again into public notice, and, by his 
vehement support of them, gave so much offence, 
that he was degraded from the priesthood, pub- 
licly whipped in the presence of Charles the Bald, 
king of France, and committed to prison, where 
he remained the rest of his life. His doctrines 
were condemned in two councils, the one sum- 
moned by Raban, Archbishop of Mentz, the 
other by Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims. The 
proceedings against him were by no means jus* 
tifiabie, but they prove what were the sentiments 
of the Church at this period (b). In the darker 

ages, 

(%) In this interval lived Gregory the Great, the 
only Pope who has left any considerable writings, but, 
if we may believe Hincmar, he was no advocate for 
absolute decrees; Quisquis omnes beati Gregorii libros 
solicita consideratione perlustrare sategerit, ita geminam 
PrEedcstinationem) ut sicut Electi ad Vitam, ita Reprobia 
Deo prsedestinentur ad Mortem, nequaquam ilium dixisse 
vcl intellexisse reperiet. Page 35. The same author 
also says, that Leo the Great supported the doctrine of 
Universal Redemption. P. 274. 

(a) Goteschalcus . . . hujus iniquae fabulationis resus- 
citator. Hincmar, p. 101. 

(b) The following letter from Raban to Hincmar, 
will sufficiently shew what was thought of Goteschalc 
and his doctrines, and also what effects they produced ; 
Reverendissimo Fratri et Consaceidoti Hincmaro Archi- 

P P episcopo 



5/8 Historical Account of [chap. viii. 
ages, which succeeded, lived the Divines, usually 
known by the name of the Schoolmen, the earliest 
of whom strongly inclined to the opinions of 
Augustine (c). Though the later writers of this 

class 

episcopo Rabanus Sefvus Christ! et Servorum ejus in 
Domino Salutem : Notum sit dilectioni vestrse, quod 
quidam Gyrovagus Monachus nomine Goteschalc, 
qui se asserit Sacerdotem in vestra Parochia ordinatum, 
de Italia venit ad nos .Moguntiam, novas superstitiones 
et noxiam Doctrinam de Praedestinatione Dei intro- 
ducens, et populos in errorem mittens, dicens quod 
Praedestinatio Dei sicut in bono sit ita et in malo, e<T 
tales sint in hoe mundo quidam, qui propter Praedesti- 
nationem Dei quae eos cogat in mortem ire, non possint 
ab errore et peccato se corrigere, quasi Deus eos fecisset 
ab initio incorriglbiles esse, et poenae obnoxios in interi- 
tum ire. Hanc ergo opinionem nuper in Synodo apud 
Moguntiam habita ab eo audientes, et incorrigibilem eum 
reperientes, annuente atque jubente piissimo rege nostro 
Ludovico, decrevimus eum cum perniciosa sua Doc- 
trina damnatum mittere ad vos, quatenus eum recluda- 
tis in vestra Parochia unde primurn inordinate recessit, 
et non sinatis eum amplius errorem docere, et seducere 
populum, Christianum, quia jam multos seductos, ut 
audivi, habet, et minus devotos erga suam Salutem, 
qui dicuntj Quid mihi proderit laborare in servitio Dei ? 
quia si prasdestinatus sum ad mortem, nunquam illam 
evadam ; si autem male egero, et praedestinatus sum ad 
yitam, sine ulla dubitationc ad seternam requiem, vado, 
Kinc. de Prsed. p. 2o. 

- (c) Lombard, the famous Master of the Sentences, 
^hvdied 1 164, says, Dicuntur filii Gehennas, non ex 



Uhap. Viii.] Caivlnistic Doctrines* 579 

class did not entirely agree with each other upon 
the subject of predestination, it does not appear 
that any of them denied the freedom of the human 
will, or were advocates for the doctrine of abso- 
lute and irrespective decrees. As we approach 
nearer to the times of the Information, we find the 
Dominicans and Augustines contending for the 
irresistibility of Divine grace and unconditional 
election, while the Franciscans and Jesuits main- 
tained the opposite opinions. At the period 
immediately preceding the Reformation, the pri- 
mary object of the Church of Rome was to 
inculcate the doctrine of human merit; and, with 
this view, grace and election were represented as 
the merited reward of foreseen voluntary good 
works in each individual* This tenet was op- 
posed by Luther and Melancthori, who con* 
tended, that by the Gospel Covenant the grace of 
God is gratuitously bestowed upon all believers, 

and 

ilia nati, sed in Mam praeparati : Lib. 3. De Reprobis 
'vero, qui praeparati non sunt ad Vitam, sed ad Mortem* 
si quseriturj utrum debeat concedi, quod Deus ab aeternO 
dilexit eos; dicimus de Electis soils simpliciter hoc esse 
concedendum, quod Deus ab aeterno eos dilexit, &c* 
De non Electis vero simpliciter est concedendum* quod 
edio habuit, id est, reprobavit. Chrisms pretium nostras 
Redemptions obtulit pro omnibus quantum ad sufficien- 
tiam, sed pro Electis tanturn, quantum ad ipsani Effi- 
caciam. Lib. 3. Non vult Deus omnes homines jus* 
tf£caii^ et tamen quis-dubitat eum posse? Lib* 3. 
? P 2 



580 Historical Account of [chap, viii* 

and that the whole system of congruous and 
condign merit, which had so long disgraced the 
Christian Church, ought to be abandoned as un- 
founded in Scripture and mischievous in its ten- 
dency. These two eminent Reformers anxiously 
avoided and discouraged all speculation concern-' 
ing the counsels of God, beyond what is clearly 
revealed ; and when their Creed was fully settled, 
they unequivocally maintained the doctrines of 
universal grace, and the liberty of the human will 
to accept or reject the offered means of Salvation. 
Happy would it have been for the cause of re- 
ligion, if this example of caution and liberality had 
been universally followed. But it is well known 
that the doctrines of Augustine were revived by 
Calvin ; and being supported with that acuteness, 
confidence, and zeal, which were distinguishing 
marks of his character, they soon becasne r the 
source of much dissension and division among the 
Protestants of Germany, France, and Switzer- 
land. Such were the origin and progress of what 
are now called Calvinistic opinions, from the days 
of the Apostles to the rcra of the Reformation,— 
from Simon Magus to the Reformer of Geneva. 
Let us now turn to our own Church. 

Those who are acquainted with our Ecclesi- 
astical History, cannot but know, that the dis- 
tinctions of the different sects of Protestantism 

were 



chap, viii.] Calvinistic Doctrines. 581 

were but little regarded in this kingdom at the 
time our Reformation actually took place. The 
grand struggle then was, whether Popery or 
Protestantism should prevail ; and our Reform- 
ers exerted their united strength to abolish Popish 
corruptions, and did not declare in favour of 
this or that leader of the Reformation in ottier 
countries : Bucer ( d) and Martyr, who were sup- 
posed to have adopted the opinions of Calvin, 
were invited into England, and placed as Pro- 
fessors of Divinity, the former at Cambridge, the 
latter at Oxford. On the other hand, Cranmer 
declined the offered assistance of Calvin, and 
consulted Melancthon (e) 9 who certainly did 
not agree with Calyin ; and our Articles more 
nearly coincide with the Augsbourg Confession, 
which is decidedly Anti- Calvinistic, than witli 
any other public declaration of faith. The mis- 
chiefs arising to the Protestant cause, from a per- 
tinacious adherence to certain opinions, uncon- 
nected with the leading tenets of Popery, were 

fresh 

(d) Bucer died in 1551, the year before our 42 Arti- 
ticles were drawn up, which were the basis of our 
present 39 Articles. 

(e) Melancthon also was invited into England before 
March 1534, and repeatedly afterwards, but he did not 
come. It was generally understood, that the Professor- 
ship at Cambridge, vacated by the death of Bucer in 
1 55 1, was offered to Melancthon; but he adhered tq 
{lis resolution of remaining in Germany. 

P P 3 



582 Historical Account of [chap, vnr, 

fresh before the eyes of our Reformers • and so 
powerfully did this example operate upon their 
minds, that, without dissembling their sentiments 
or shrinking from their duty, they were content, 
as we have seen, to express doctrines, in oppo- 
sition to the peculiarities of Calvin, in mild and 
general terms, and frequently in the very lan- 
guage of Scripture ; and by these means all of- 
fence and dispute upon points of this nature were 
avoided, till Popery was considered as no longer 
formidable. Soon after the great business of the 
Keforniation was accomplished, gome of our 
Divines, who had taken refuge at Geneva during 
Queen Mary's persecution, began to avow and 
maintain the doctrines of Calvin, which they had 
there imbibed (f) ■ and to urge the necessity of 

a change 

(J) u It was not long that Queen Mary sat upon the 
throne, and yet, as short a time as it was, it gave not 
only a strong interruption for the present in the pro- 
ceedings of the Church, but an occasion of great dis- 
cord and dissension in it for the time to come, For 
many of our Divines, who had fled beyond the sea to 
avoid the hurry of her reign, though otherwise men of 
good abilities in most parts of learning, returned so 
altered in their principles as to points of doctrine, so 
disaffected to the government forms of worship here by 
law established, that they seemed not to be the same 
4nen at their coming home, as they had been at their going 
hence : yet such was the necessity which the Church 
vyas under, of -filling up the vacant places and prefer- 



chap, viii.] Cakhihtic Doctrines. 583 

a change in our Public Formularies. These dis- 
cussions were carried on. with some eagerness and 
warmth, in the middle and at the end of Elizabeth's 
reign : but the ability and spirit, with which she 
conducted her government, prevented any serious 
inconvenience or mischief. In the feeble reign of 
her successor, the opinions of Calvin made con- 
siderable progress, and produced their natural 
effects of weakening the grounds of subordination, 
and of lessening attachment to regal authority ; 
and the unwise and injudicious conduct of 
Charles the First gave full scope for the ope- 
ration 

merits, which had been made void either by the voluntary 
discession, or positive deprivation, of the Popish Clergy, 
that they were fain to take in all of any condition, which 
were able to do the public service, without relation to 
their private opinions in doctrine or discipline, nothing 
so much regarded in the choice of men for bishopricks, 
deaneries, dignities in cathedral churches, the richest 
benefices in the country, and places of most command 
and trust in the Universities, as their known zeal against 
the Papists, together with such a sufficiency of learning, 
as might enable them for writing and preaching against 
the Popish Supremacy, the carnal presence of Christ in 
the blessed Sacrament, the superstitions 6i cue Mass, the 
half Communion the celebrating of Divine Sei vke in a 
tongue not known unto the people, the enforced single 
life of priests', the worshipping of images, and other the 
like points cf Popery, which had given most offence, 
and were the principal causes of that separation." Hey 
Jin's Quince Hjst. 

P P 4 



584 Historical Account of [chap, viii. 
ration of those principles, which terminated in the 
tragical death of that unfortunate Monarch, and 
the entire subversion, for a time, of our Civil and 
Ecclesiastical Constitution. Upon the return of 
Charles the Second, the use of the Liturgy, which 
had been many years laid aside, was restored, 
with some improvements and additions by no 
means of a Calvinistic tendency, and it has re- 
mained in that state to the present time. The 
clandestine attempt which was made by the Cal- 
vinists of Cambridge to procure some appearance 
of authority to their opinions by means of the 
Lambeth Articles towards the end of Elizabeth s 
reign, was noticed in the last Chapter ; and in 
another Work (g) I have given an account of the 
more public attempts of the Calvinists against our 
Liturgy, and Articles, at the Hampton Court Con- 
ference, in the beginning of the reign of James 
the First ; and again at the Savoy Conference, 
soon after the restoration of Charles the Second. 
These repeated attempts to introduce alterations, 
conformable to the principles of Calvin, into our 
Public Formularies, incontestably prove that they 
were not framed according to the system of that 
Reformer ; and what passed upon those occasions 
plainly shews, that the body of the Clergy and 
nation, was, at all those different periods, de- 
cidedly 

(g) Elements of Christ. Theol. vol. 2. 



chap. viii. ]| Calvinistic Doctrines. 585 

cidedly Anti-Calvinistic. The early Calvinisis 
of this country having thus failed in their endea- 
vours to obtain a change in our Public Formularies, 
their more modern successors, despairing of altera- 
tion, have adopted a different mode of proceed- 
4ng, and have boldly contended that the Articles, 
Liturgy, and Homilies, are already Calvinistic, 
and admit of no other interpretation^^. That 
this is a groundless assertion, I have, I flatter 
myself, sufficiently proved in the former part of 
this Volume. 

In confirmation of this Historical detail, which 
may be considered as a sort of external evidence of 
the Anti-Calvinism of our Church, and in addition 
to the internal positive proofs to the same purpose 
which have been adduced in the first four Chapters 
of this Work, it may be proper to remark a cir^ 
cumstance of a negative kind, which seems to 
deserve attention, and to carry great weight with 
it : There is not in any part of our Book of 
Common Prayer, or in our Articles, a single ex- 
pression which can fairly be interpreted as assert- 
ing or recognizing any one of the peculiar doc- 
trines of Calvinism. Redemption is never de- 
clared 

(h) On the other hand, our Articles are sometimes 
called Arminian ; which is manifestly absurd, as they 
were drawn up in their . present form in 1562, and Ar- 
minius was born in 1560. The same observation wilL 
apply to our Liturgy and Homilies. 



5 £6 Historical Account of [c h a p . vi 1 1 . 

clared to be irrespectively partial ; Human co- 
operation is never excluded where the influence 
of the Spirit is mentioned ; Divine grace is never 
considered as irresistible or indefectible ; Good 
Works are never represented as unnecessary to 
Salvation ; Sudden conversions and sensible ope- 
rations of the Spirit are no where acknowledged. 
These assertions, being of a negative nature, 
admit not of regular proof ; but it has been shewn, 
that doctrines opposite to those just mentioned, 
are contained both in our Liturgy and Articles • 
and therefore if we admit that our Liturgy and 
Articles are consistent with themselves and with 
each other, the truth of these assertions necessarily 
follows. It is scarcely possible to imagine, that 
Calvinists would draw up a set of Prayers to be 
daily used in the Church, together with the form 
of administering the two Sacraments of Baptism 
and the Lord's Supper, a Catechism for the in- 
struction of Youth, an Order for Confirmation, 
for the Visitation of the Sick, for the Burial of 
the Dead, and all other offices relating to Chris- 
tian worship, in which the subjects of grace, 
faith, good works, and Redemption, must of neces- 
sity frequently occur, without once unequivocally 
declaring or indicating their sentiments upon 
any one of those points ; and I call upon the 
"supporters of Calvinism to produce a passage 

from 



chap, vii r.] Cahlmstic Doctrines. 587 
from our Common Prayer Book, the plain and 
obvious sense of which is decidedly Calvinistic. 

This negative argument is still stronger with 
respect to the Homilies, to which so confident an 
appeal has lately been made by certain writers, 
that I request the particular attention of my 
readers to the facts I am going to state. Not 
cue of the peculiar doctrines of Calvin is men- 
tioned in either of trie two Books of Homilies : the 
word Predestination does not occur from the 
beginning to the end of the Homilies < the word 
Election occurs upon one occasion only fij, and 
then it is used in its true Scriptural signification, 
a signification very different from that in which it 
is used by Calvinists ; the word Reprobation does 
not occur at all; nothing is said of absolute 
decrees, partial redemption, perseverance, or irre- 
sistible grace. The former of these books was 
published in the reign of Edward the Sixth, and 
the latter in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth s 
reign ; and both are pronounced by our 35th 
Article, to " contain a godly and wholesome 
doctrine, and necessary for these times that is, 
for the times in which they were published. If 
our great reformers, the authors of these Homilies, 

Cranmer, 

(i) " Let us by such virtues as ought to spring out 
of faith, shew Our election to be sure and stable - 3 as 
St. Peter teacheth, endeavour yourselves to make your 
calling and election certain by good works." p. 36. 



5'S8 Historical Account of [chap, viii, 
Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, and Jewell, had them- 
selves as is sometimes pretended, held Calvinistie 
opinions, is it to be believed that they would 
have composed a set of Sermons to be used by the 
Parochial Clergy in their respective churches, for 
the avowed purpose of establishing their congre- 
gations in a sound faith and a right practice, 
without even mentioning in them any one of these 
points ? And let it be remembered, that the sub- 
jects of many of the Homilies are immediately 
connected with the Calvinistie system, such as, 
original sin, the salvation of mankind, faith, good 
works, declining from God, the Nativity, the 
Passion, the Resurrection, the descent of the 
Holy Ghost, the Grace of God, and Repentance. 

But though the Homilies contain neither any 
discussion in support of the Calvinistie doctrines, 
nor any direct refutation of them, there is a great 
number of incidental passages, as we have seen, 
which plainly shew, that the authors, were not 
Calvinists. The little notice taken of these points, 
and the uncontroversial manner in which when 
noticed they are mentioned, prove, that when the 
Homilies were written and published, Calvinistie 
opinions had made veiy little progress in England. 
For, if they had been generally prevalent, or even 
if they had been embraced by any considerable 
number of persons, the framers of the Homilies 

WQUU} 



chap, viii.] Calvinistic Doctrines. 589 

would have thought.it " necessary for the times" 
to have entered more fully into these subjects, and 
to have offered a confutation of what they mani- 
festly considered as erroneous doctrines : they 
would have exposed the new errors of Calvinism 
in the same manner as they have exposed the old 
errors of Popery. The truth is, that the introduc- 
tion of Calvinism, or rather its prevalence in any 
considerable degree, was subsequent to the begin- 
ning of Queen Elizabeth's reign (k), when all 
our Public Formularies, our Articles, our Liturgy, 
and our Homilies, were settled as they now are ? 
with the exception of a few alterations and addi- 
tions to the Liturgy, not in the least affecting its- 
general spirit and character. Our Reformers 
followed no human authority — they had recourse 
to the Scriptures themselves as their sole guide. 
And the consequence has been what might have 
been expected, that our Articles and Liturgy do 

not 

(k) Fox, in his " History of the Acts and Monu- 
ments of the Church/* commonly called " Fox's Book 
of Martyrs/' which was published in 1 563, the year after 
our Articles and second Book of Homilies were pub^ 
lished, and four years after our Liturgy was settled, says, 
that our English Reformers, who suffered in Queen 
Mary's reign, had adopted the opinions of Luther and 
Zuingle ; and the little which he says of Calvin, plainly 
shews, that Calvin and his doctrines were at that time 
Yery little respected in England. 



5po Historical Account, &c. [chap, vnr* 

not exactly correspond with the sentiments of any 
of the eminent Reformers upon the Continent, or 
with the Creeds of any of the Protestant churches 
which are there established. Our Church is not 
Lutheran — it is not Calvinistic — it is not Armi- 
nian. — It is Scriptural : it is built upon the 
Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
\he chief corner-stone. 



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